Kurushii na Kokoro
by Dennou Writer
Summary: Ienaga Kana is the arranged fiancée of Nura Rikuo, who feels that his relationship with one of his most trusted servants might be blocking the way to her happiness. RikuTsura and T for safety. Geez, I suck.
1. Prologue

The moon was completely full that evening. Its magnificent round form looked bigger and brighter than usual, being it that there were no clouds in the sky. The reflected rays from the Sun had nothing in their way then, covering every single part of Edo with its beautifully white light. A light that was still not enough to outshine the ones coming from the biggest mansion of the city, which was the main residence of one of the most powerful Kumi of Japan, the Nura-gumi. The place was radiant as day, although that was a bit exaggerated, even for such a famous household and even with the mansion being home for an absurd amount of people. That was because, in general, there wasn't that much of nocturnal activity around there. But that evening, all the lights were to be on and the music loud, all the residents were to gather, drink and eat together, and all the by-passers were to comment about that unusuality the next day, because together with that first evening of Spring, an important guest was coming back to Japan.

And that very evening was also a lot like the year before's one, which had been the mark of the beginning of a really complicated conflict in that Kumi.

"Waka~" a kind voice beamed, followed by cold white hands sliding open the shouji doors of one of the most important rooms of the Nura mansion, which belonged to the current head of the Nura himself – a tall, white-haired fourteen-year-old heir.

"Ah, Tsurara." The Wakagashira smiled slightly at his cheerful servant, who sat beside him with a tray of food in hands. "What's that?"

"I just figured Rikuo-sama might be hungry so I brought a snack." The so-called "Tsurara" explained, placing the tray on the floor. "Dinner will be served late tonight, after all."

"Oh, right... the party..."

"My, Rikuo-sama, don't tell me you forgot about it." The raven-haired aide giggled, though she knew very well why her master was that absent-minded at times. After all, he was always very busy with all the work his Kumi would give him.

And things didn't get any better after the death of his father.

When Rikuo gave her a sheepish scratch of his head as response, she sighed, her ocean blue eyes examining his messy desk, which she would probably have to clean later, finding something interesting and new. "Oh, is that a feather?"

The white-haired heir's eyes followed her gaze to some sheets of paper covering the object his servant had spotted, which was hardly visible. "Sharp eyes. As expected of Tsurara." She could help but smile behind her white kimono's sleeve at his comment. "Yeah, it's a feather. Pretty good one, by the way. It's nice to write with that."

"Is it?"

"Hm-Hm. I still like the brush better, though." He nodded, offering her the pen after diving it into a little pot of pitch-black ink, "Wanna try it out?"

"Really? Thank you very much, Waka." the aide took the beautifully classy-looking feather in her hand with a cheeky smile, leaning down to write a random kanji on a sheet of paper, careful not to ruin her young master's precious work or dirty herself by rolling up her sleeves.

When she didn't get a very good result with the pen, she childishly puffed her cheeks, earning a chuckle from the young man beside her, who was taking a sip of the tea she had brought. Needless to say she also preferred to write with brushes.

"Oi, you can't hold it like that." Rikuo pointed out, taking her hand from behind after leaving his cup of tea on the tray again and adjusting her slender fingers around the pen. "Remember it's no brush, so you have to support it with your fingers like this. And it's pointed too, so the ink will only come if you write in a single direction." He explained, allowing himself to come much closer to her than he should as he eveloped her tiny cold hand in his warm big one. "Besides, this is foreign. It wasn't made to write Japanese. If you try to make kanji, you'll have to write in a lot of directions, which won't work at all. You'd better just try another language that you could write the letters altogether in only one direction."

As he said that, his servant guessed automatically what language he would try to write as example. After all, the only other language he knew was English – something he didn't have to bother learning, but did for good reasons. One of them included a childhood friend of his, who was half-British. But as he began to guide her hand onto the paper, she noticed in what position they were. Her back was almost glued on his hard six-pack abs, while he allowed himself to rest his cheek on the top of her head, and that together with his hand on hers made it the perfect picture...

...for lovers.

That was bad, really bad. Yet she couldn't deny she guiltily enjoyed it. And what he wrote didn't make it any better for her.

"I love you", it read.

Yes, even though she was a mere servant, she could understand English quite well after the three years she had spent helping her master with his home-tutored lessons. And what he wrote with her hand was just a simple phrase, which **shouldn't** have any deeper meaning, only to show her how a foreign pen worked and how it was supposed to be used. But still, it was a whole lot of an inconvenience something like that came from that certain young man of all people, and Tsurara sometimes felt like her master liked doing those kinds of things to her. On second thought, indeed, the feather worked much better writing with European letters, she noted while comparing the phrase with the kanji she had written just a moment ago: "yume".

No doubt, **that** kind of thing between her and him would only ever have a chance to actually work out in her dreams and nowhere else.

As silence grew between the two for a couple of seconds that seemed to be eternal, Tsurara sighed at the urge to say something. "Rikuo-sama."

"Hm?" he asked without opening his mouth, noticing she was ready to take her leave when she got up.

"If you allow me, I'm going to help with the preparations for the party right now." Was the lame excuse to get away, even though she didn't really want to. And although she tried her best to keep her face hidden from her master's penetrating red gaze, he was still able to catch a glimpse of her burning cheeks, only letting a long-awaited, satisfied smirk approach his lips when she closed the door behind her.

That girl was far too cute for her own good.

~o0o~

"Excuse me." a motherly voice asked for permission as warm pink hands opened the shouji doors of one of the biggest guest rooms of the Nura household, lent to a very important guest, who was back from a very long trip to England, Ienaga Kana – a short, chocolate-haired fourteen-year-old heiress.

"Ara, Wakana-sama, good evening." The young lady greeted politely, the two maids that were helping prepare her hair and make-up following with smiles and quick bows before resuming their work.

"My, no need for such formalities, Kana-chan. You can just call me with 'san'." The young mother waved Kana with a smile, who blushed at her casuality. But the blush soon faded when another figure appeared by the doors, smiling brightly. Long inky hair, snow white skin and sapphire blue eyes – it was only a matter of seconds for Kana to recognize the beauty before her.

"Oikawa-san? Long time no see." She said, her smile growing a little bit at the familiar girl, while the maids finished their masterpiece.

"Indeed, Ienaga-sama. I hope we have more time to chat from now on, because I'm really curious to know about your trip! But let's save that for later. The party is about to start. Oh, by the way, Wakana-san, you're needed in the backyard." She informed, and soon Wakana was on her feet and saying goodbye to the four ladies before disappearing into the hallway.

Kana watched Tsurara with interest. She had changed quite a bit, but at the same time, she was still the same as she remembered – cheerful and talkative. The offer of having some chattering with her was quite a bit unexpected, since they had never gotten along that well when children, but she was probably curious to know what the other country was like and how life went on back there. Besides, they were grown-ups now, weren't they? About time they forgot their bad past and became friends.

"Now, Ojou, shall we go?"

"Where to?" Kana asked as she stood up, the maids trailing behind her.

"To Rikuo-sama, of course." Tsurara answered happily, gesturing for them to follow her through the corridors. "Ienaga-sama can't go to the party without him, after all." She clarified, paying no mind to the giggles of the two young maids, who seemed pretty eager to finally meet the master of the house in person. And maybe it was just Kana's impression, but she could've sworn she heard the slightest bits of bitterness in Tsurara's voice, which was not like her.

It didn't take long for the girls to reach the doors of Rikuo's room. Kana thought she should be the one to ask for permission to open them, since she was the one he was to take with him to the party that was already beginning, but Tsurara beat her to it without noticing. As soon as they stopped by the entrance of the room, she opened the shouji doors with a smile and announced them. "Rikuo-sama, Ienaga-sama is her–" she interrupted herself when the doors were halfway open. Taking a step back, she closed the doors back quickly, a slight blush forming on her pale cheeks. She then turned around, bowed, apologized quickly and let herself into the room, opening and closing the door fast enough for the females outside not to see anything inside, although they had already caught a glimpse of it. And, **damn**, that was some sight, as shameful as it was for a maiden to admit.

The three left behind watched as Tsurara scolded her master, her voice muffled by the screen of the doors, and her and his moving shadows being the only thing they could see. "Rikuo-sama! It's been half-an-hour since I left this room and you're still like this?! Ojou is already ready, you know? It's so rude to leave her waiting outside!"

While the maids behind Kana commented about it in quiet whispers and giggles, she stood frozen in place, a blush on her cheeks and her eyes wide. She really didn't know what surprised her the most there. Maybe it was the fact Rikuo had really caught up with his growth spurt, she decided. Last time they had seen each other had been five years ago, and, although she didn't think she had changed that much at all, he had become a completely different person. When he was nine, he used to have the body any child would, – small, thin and with huge eyes – but now, he looked like he had jumped through time and become not five, but **ten** years older. From what she had just seen, he looked like an adult now, and pretty much seemed to resemble the figure of his father when he was alive. If it wasn't for minor differences, Kana would swear the man once claimed dead was back from the afterlife and standing before her. He'd grown not only really tall, but large, too. His shoulders were now surprisingly broad, he had acquired muscles all over and his hair had become longer than the ones of many women she knew, and even though it was probably very dense and heavy, it was still gravity-defying as always, staying up straight like a broad, with a curve at the ends.

When she was in England, Kana had missed him dearly, but coming back there made her forget how that had felt, even though she hadn't even talked to him yet. And suddenly, five years seemed like forever again, though all that separated them at the moment was the thin and nearly trasnparent screen of the doors. She must've lost a really big amount of time they could've spent growing up together, just like they used to, before being separated. Now the feeling of longing was back to her, and although her composture didn't allow it, she wanted him to come out at once so she could hug him as tightly as she would be able to manage.

"Sorry, I just thought I should finish my scroll before getting dressed, and ended up taking too much time." Rikuo scratched the back of his head while the servant allowed herself to go through his wardrobe to get him some proper clothes. Kana felt chills coming up her spine, but held the urge to tremble in front of her maids, although they were probably doing so without her looking. That was his voice? That unintentionally seductive and irresistible sound was Rikuo's **voice**?

Now the three knew the meaning of the word "eargasm".

Still, Tsurara seemed to be acting like it was no big deal. Obviously she was able to hear that beauty everyday. Kana wondered if the aide had any idea of how lucky she was.

When she came back with his clothes, she helped him put them on while trying to look at anywhere but his face. Much to her dismay, that didn't go unnoticed by him. "Hey, what's wrong? Your face is kinda red..."

"Wah?! D-Don't change the subject and put this on, Waka!"

Kana sure noticed in all details possible how Rikuo had drastically changed. But just like some things are fated to change forever, others never do. And another thing that surprised her quite a bit was how Tsurara had always taken and still took the liberty of coming and leaving Rikuo's room like she owned it. When they were children, it wasn't a big deal (though the heiress found it quite irritating), but now, both had grown into young adults. Rikuo needed and deserved some privacy. And he was her master, for goodness's sake! How dare she came into his room and went through his clothes without even asking for permission, scolded and ordered him around and even helped him get dressed? Not even his own mother should have that level of intimacy with him. Tsurara was acting as if she was...

"Don't you think it looks like she's his mother, Maki?" the brunette maid asked from behind her mistress in low voice, leaning close to the blonde one so that Kana wouldn't have to hear them. But even though she actually was, she paid no mind to them until Maki answered.

'''Mother'? Don't you mean 'his wife'?"

...his wife. That was exactly how she acted around him, and that was the reason why she and Kana didn't get along before. As his personal aide, it was expected they were familiar with each other, but no matter how much people looked, no one would ever say their relationship was a master-servant one. They had grown to be close friends with time, yes, but that closure they had was not just friendship anymore, and anyone could see that. She had become the closest person to him in the world, and even gotten to know him better than his own family. Heck, he was half-naked before her, but she was still helping him get dressed as if his body was no secret to her.

And, much to Kana's disgust, it most likely wasn't.

It was then that, together with the feeling of missing Rikuo so much, came back a feeling Kana had been trying to push away for so long – jealousy. That ugly, dark feeling, which was not fit for a young woman of her rank. She hated and had managed to forget that long ago, with the distance she had kept from that household, but now, together with some memories from their not very good past together, it was all coming back to her.

"Are you sure you don't have a fever, Tsurara?" Rikuo asked, lifting the girl's raven bangs and leaning down to press his cheek against her forehead. From the other side of the doors, their shadows made them look like they were kissing, which made Kana clench her fists and purse her lips, but the maids behind didn't see it.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" the head aide answered embarrassedly, finishing preparing him. "Anyway, let's just go. The party has already started."

"O-Okay." And with that, Rikuo turned around to open the shouji doors while the brunette servant went to blow off his candle, making Kana's heart skip a beat. In a split second, the dim feeling burning within her chest was gone, and all that occupied her mind was him now. She straightened herself, as did her maids, and when the doors were opened, everything became a pure, ruby-shaded red. The chocolate-haired girl's breath was caught up in her throat as she found herself staring at mesmerizing shiny orbs that bore a stoic expression. She was **finally** looking at him, and just like she thought, his face had also become really handsome and almost like a copy of his father's. He was in a black yukata, something he had always liked wearing since little, with a blue haori hanging on his shoulders.

Rikuo – **her** Rikuo.

He was just as serious as always, but his eyes now were sharp-shaped, his face was no longer puffy, and his lips formed a thin line. Despite the fact that she was incredibly happy to see him again, his face seemed to show the feeling wasn't mutual, but he had never been one to show emotions that much, so by the way he greeted her, she could tell that it actually was mutual, after all. "Ah, Kana-chan." The way his voice said her name made her shudder and her blush harder, but she fought to keep her ground and not to look like an idiot when staring at him so intensely. "Sorry to keep you waiting. It's... good to see you again."

A couple of seconds passed, and Kana noticed she was supposed to say something too. It took a few more seconds for her to snap from her trance and find words to speak, but her voice ended up coming out a little weak, and while she didn't quite know why, she hoped she wouldn't sound so weird. "Ri-Ri... kuo-kun... it's go-od to see you again t-too." after the girl stammered it out so lamely, she almost wanted to kill herself.

The maids giggled once more at her failed attempts of greeting and nervous self, which was unusual of her and a side of hers they had never seen before, but the heir didn't seem to pay any attention to it. Whether he was just being his carefree self or polite enough not to show disdain for her failure, she couldn't figure, but she soon decided she didn't even want to. All she wanted was not to take long to go to the party that awaited them. After all, arriving late would be really rude of her, being it she was the "guest of honor" of the celebration meant to welcome her back home.

"Shall we?" he offered, and soon the ladies were following him through the wooden hallways.

Right after closing the door of Rikuo's room, Tsurara trailed them from behind and managed to discreetly pass by the maids and the heiress, taking place beside her master. It didn't take long for Kana take notice of how close they were once again, while she was left behind him. The thought of seeing them holding hands made her heart skip a beat once more, but when she looked again, she saw it was just Tsurara who was clinging to Rikuo's arm. It looked rather like a one-sided thing, but still, it didn't please Kana at all, and the more the maids behind giggled at it, the more irritated she got. That was why she pretty much thanked the kami-sama-tachi for separating their ways as Tsurara went to the kitchen and Rikuo headed with them to the backyard, where the party had already begun. Finally, she was able to move closer to Rikuo's side. And, pretty much like she had wanted to embrace him earlier, she wanted to evelope his arm with hers just like the indigo-eyed girl was doing, but had no courage to.

"Courage"...?

No, she thought the right expression for that was rather "lack of shame". She knew very well the personal aide didn't have the intention of having that kind of image, but she really had no better words to define the way she acted towards her master other than "shamelessly". No one ever treated him the way she did – she was too straight-forward, too familiar, too clingy to him, and Kana hated that. She sometimes disliked herself for feeling that way, but, as much as she despised admitting it, she couldn't help it. Any woman would be like that if they were in her shoes, she was sure. Because, without perceiving, the oh-so-trusted aide, Oikawa Tsurara, was slowly taking a place she shouldn't by her master's side. A place that already had an owner, and that was Ienaga Kana herself.

She was his fiancée after all.

~o0o~

"'_Fiancé'?" asked a five-year-old Kana to her mother. "What's that, Mama?"_

"_Your fiancé is the person that will become your husband when you get married." The woman explained, and since her child didn't seem to understand her words, she tried to clarify things even more. "A husband is a person a woman is supposed to share her life with, and the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife is made through marriage, when you commit yourself to be with this person forever."_

_Finally starting to catch on what her mother meant, the short-haired girl's eyes began to shine with excitement. "So the one Kana is going to meet tomorrow... is the person Kana is going to live with forever?"_

"_Yes." Was the simple reply, followed by a speech Kana would never forget, even though she was very young when she heard it for the first time. "You shall love and take care of this person forever, just like I do with your father."_

"_Love..." Kana muttered to herself in amusement, her hazel eyes gleaming with a new-found anxiousness to the meeting she was supposed to attend to._

_The day after, she was presented to Nura Rikuo. And she had to admit, she was afraid of him at first, for he was nothing like she had imagined. Being a half-British girl, Kana would always dig into fairy tales with her mother whenever she was able to. And, from those stories, the one she pictured to marry her __future_ self was rather a reflection of the heroes and princes she liked. But Rikuo was the total opposite of the discriptions the tales Kana knew provided.

_The first thing that she noted about him was his black and white spiky hair, the other how serious his face was for such a young kid, and last but not least, his eyes. That pair of demonic-looking, sharp ruby eyes. Those didn't bear any expression, for he was quite the quiet and serious child, even though he was a year younger than her. She was sure anyone her age would've been as frightened as she was of him that day, but at the same time, she felt somehow attracted to him. He was mysterious, and she found that amazing for a mere child, so she soon took a liking o__f him, even though he looked pretty mu__c_h like the bad guys o_f her stories._

_She also remembered how her family treated hers. Rikuo's only blood relatives alive, his grandfather, father and mother, were really nice people. She took note that with the exception of Wakana, no one else __c_ould be _c_onsidered "normal" in that family, and though her parents didn't seem to be very fond of that, it may have been the reason why Kana had liked them at first sight.

_The Nura were unique._

_Back then, she had been introduced to some servants too. The one she got interested in the most first was the woman serving tea to the table of her parents, who were sitting with Rikuo's, right beside the table she was sharing with Rikuo himself. Her name was Oikawa Setsura, and though she was just a simple and plain person, with no make-up or ornaments to __complement her slender __figure_, she was probably the most beautiful woman Kana had ever seen. She even had to admit Setsura was more beautiful than her mother, who Kana had once considered the number one beauty she knew. And when she figured the woman was the same age as Rikuo's grandfather, she admired her extremely youth_ful-looking sel__f_ even more, being it she looked as old as Rikuo's twenty-two-year-old mother. She had that flawless white skin, long and wavy raven hair, and sharp red eyes that bore a cold glance. She wore a simple white kimono with black butterfly stamps and, even though it was summer, a white scarf with stylish wavy lines all over it, mira_c_ulously not breaking a single sweatdrop. It was nothing much, but she was able to make it look like it was worth a lot more than the unnecessarily expensive clothes Kana's mother wore.

_Setsura had a little daughter, regardless of her advanced age, who Kana had also met that day. She was in charge of serving tea to her and Rikuo, and after doing so, she allowed herself to sit with them. And, for some reason, that ended up making Setsura smirk rather suspiciously from the other side of the room, while the other adults found the childish reunion quite a bit cute._

_Yes, that was Oikawa Tsurara, the busybody head aide._

_And, although she was like a copy of her mother, Kana noted she was also the exact opposite. Her hair was raven, but straight instead of wavy, her eyes were huge and full of life as the intense blue contrasted the dull red, and her skin was also as white as snow, yet she had these rosy stains on her pudgy cheeks. She, too, wore a white kimono with a black and white-stripped scarf, but her kimono was rhomb-stamped and her scarf had zig-zag dark lines._

_During the time Kana spent with her future husband and his closest servant, she experienced a new feeling that, for being a rich kid, she had never felt before – envy. It was just a little bit, but the heiress envied Tsurara. Not only for having a very beautiful mother and being a cutie herself, but also because she was pretty intelligent, already working at such a young age, only a __few months apart __from the arranged wi__fe_. And Kana noticed it herself that Tsurara did a good job, dedicating herself to take care of her master the best way she could. She was, indeed, an interesting one, just like Rikuo. Kana envied her, and yet, she wanted to befriend her.

_But that changed after a while._

_Although arranged marriages didn't require love, and Rikuo's family didn't seem to approve the idea, the Nura and the Ienaga household wanted their descendants to get along well. With that in mind, Kana's and Rikuo's parents would make them see each other at least once a week. And every time, even when it was Rikuo who visited Kana, Tsurara would always be there with him like glue. Kana knew she was overprotective with her master, but that was becoming another sort o__f_ _feeling_, and it was impossible not to notice. Much to Kana's deception, it was also impossible to get rid of her, no matter how hard she tried. She also sometimes wished to ask Rikuo why Tsurara _was __always following them, but feared he would answer he was the one who wanted her to do so. Kana started to grow really annoyed of that, but as a good lady, she would keep it to herself. Yet Tsurara was able to notice it all pretty __fast_.

_They would exchange quick glares with each other ever since, at least once a day._

"Kana-chan." Rikuo's far away-sounding voice made the chocolate-eyed maiden snap out of her thoughts and memories. "Are you okay? You've been quite a bit distracted..."

"O-Oh, really? I'm totally fine, don't worry." She waved the white and black-haired leader sheepishly, "I was just... thinking."

Right, thinking was all Kana had been doing that night. It was needless to say that was because the party was nothing like she had in mind. And, to tell the truth, she would have preferred much more that Rikuo went to live in England with her, and not the opposite. Not like that could ever happen, since there would be no place in her own household for the entire Nura clan, which couldn't stay without its master, but it was still nice for her to dream about how life would be much better than there in Japan.

Parties, for example, were usually very calm and peaceful in England. The conversations were quiet and simple, the food was smooth and the people were welcoming. On the other hand, the parties in Japan generally included a lot of loud chattering, tons of half-cooked, smelly fish and drunk men all over. Or, at least, that was the way she saw it. That was why all Kana had to distract herself was talking to Rikuo, which was a good thing, since they had a lot to catch up with. She wanted to tell him and hear from him everything that wasn't mentioned in their letters, she wanted to talk about their relationship, she wanted to make plans for the future. Yet it all had to wait until late at night, when the guests were all drunk enough not to interrupt them and finally give them some privacity.

But by the looks of it, privacity was something rarely conceived to the head of the Nura mansion.

"Waka, Ienaga-sama, I have brought you some bancha~" a happy voice said as two cups of tea were placed on the table Kana and Rikuo shared, making the scene look rather like a déjà-vu.

Really, all of that was becoming rather frustrating to the brunette heiress. She had asked for Rikuo not to be there for her when she arrived at the main house for a reason – the trip across Europe and Asia sure was tiring, and she had probably looked really pitiful when she finally stepped out of her family's carriage. Her family had insisted not to, but she had also brought two maids with her to make sure she could be kept twice as beautiful for that one night. But no matter how much she tried to catch her future husband's attention (of course, not with any desperate measures), he wouldn't say a word about how she looked, or even take the hints that she wanted to be complimented. Not that he was actually an insensitive guy, but he wasn't the type to pay that much attention, either, and Kana was pretty sure the huge amount of Sake he had been drinking was at fault too – or rather, she hoped so. And while all of that kept dampening her mood for nearly three hours, the fact Tsurara opted for taking a seat beside her and Rikuo on the table after her duties in the kitchen were done only worsened everything.

Thankfully, the happy-go-lucky aide wasn't complimented by him either.

~o0o~

Kana woke up in the morning, lying on her futon. She didn't know what had happened after the talk with Tsurara and Rikuo at the party, for she didn't seem to remember anything after the last cup of tea. All she knew was that she probably didn't come to her room by herself, since she hadn't changed into her night gown. There was the possibility of her being too tired to do so, but a noble woman like her would never be that lazy. And when the blonde maid, Maki Saori, came to bring her breakfast, everything was clear – it was Rikuo who had carried her back. As her face went crimson with the new information, she began to frantically ask questions like "wasn't it too much trouble to him?" and "did anyone see us?". But, much to her relief, he had said it himself it was no problem, and most of the people around them were too drunk to even see them leaving, except for the young servant accompanying them – Tsurara. It was then that, even though Kana didn't remember a thing about being carried in her sleep by her future husband, which would have made her incredibly happy, she could feel some smug victory sprout within her, fighting not to smile at the mental image of the servant trailing behind Rikuo's large back (as Kana herself had done earlier) while he had her in his arms. It was wrong of her, but she still liked it – even because she had wanted to be the one he'd hold in those strong arms the whole night.

By the time she finished breakfast, which she did pretty fast, she dressed up and immediately headed to his room. She didn't even know where to start from – should she thank him first, maybe ask about what happened, or even treat him for the favor? She couldn't decide, and her happiness was occupying such a big part of her mind she wasn't even thinking straight about it. Yet the warm feeling soon faded as she reached the shouji doors of Rikuo's room, which were slightly open, so the morning breeze would refresh the place. Ironically, she had arrived just in time to see Tsurara cover her Waka's shoulders with a dark blue haori through the thin space left from the open door. If it had been only that, it wouldn't be a problem at all, but soon after the head aide placed the clothing on Rikuo, who was sitting before his desk and working on some scrolls, she allowed herself to kneel behind him as she wrapped her delicate yet strong arms around his neck, their cheeks so dangerously close their skin was an inch from touching. Again, Kana had the urge to clench her jaw at an unpleasant view, but held herself well. And she might not have noticed, but Rikuo's gaze soon became slightly pained at the act of affection, yet he still didn't seem to mind it.

"Hey, Rikuo-sama, this bit is wrong." She heard Tsurara say as she pointed out one of the scrolls he was writing. Wait, she could read and write? Wasn't she a mere servant? Servants didn't have time to go to school or be tutored in any way, so where on Earth had she learned it from?

"Ah, it's true... damn." He muttered as he tried to fix his mistake. He looked so indifferent at the lack of space between him and her that it made his fiancée feel a little sick.

"Ehehe, Rikuo-sama needs to be more patient with math." Now that statement surprised Kana even more. It wasn't just reading and writing, but math, too. More importantly, just how well did she know him? It never ceased to amaze Kana the amount of tiny details she knew about her master – not liking math that much was an example. The wife was the one supposed to know her man the best in the world, but when Kana thought about it, compared to Tsurara, she knew almost nothing about him – that was what she hated the most about their relationship. It really made her feel small, even if that wasn't their intention.

"Well, that's a little too much to handle before breakfast, don't you think?"

"Eh? But your breakfast is right there, Waka!" Tsurara frowned, pointing in front of him. "D-Don't tell me... you're rejecting it...?!"

"Nah, you know how much I like your cooking, even though it's a bit... chilly." Rikuo smirked, now back to writing rapidly and earning a slight, unnoticed blush from the sapphire-eyed beauty. His statement made Kana remember that, although Tsurara cooked well, she was always able to make the food cold somehow. "It's just... difficult to concentrate in the two things at the same time."

"Then why don't you just stop for a while, Rikuo-sama? You haven't been eating properly lately." Tsurara commented, to which Kana raised a brow. That girl really did keep a good eye on him. But still, how was she able to figure that out if his health was rather perfect?

"It's this damn report for Jijii... it's been consuming me for a while and I have to finish it in time, before he comes back from his trip to Osore-yama."

"Say, Rikuo-sama, don't you think this ton of work is a bit too much? It's been long since you last took a day off." The aide complained.

"Don't worry, it's the last one for now. Kana-chan is here and all, so Kaa-san and Jijii think it's the best choice to take a week to rest while he is gone." Rikuo explained, "Fair enough, since I haven't really given her the attention she deserves yet."

At that, Kana blushed. He was actually willing to spend some time with her? A whole week just for them after so many years only connected by letters seemed like a dream – too good to be true – but it wasn't. And the look on Tsurara's face only raised the level of the superiority she was feeling.

"I see... good to you." Rikuo turned around to meet Tsurara's droopy eyes right after that statement, and she couldn't help but cast him a questioning look. "W-What?"

"You don't seem very happy at all. And **you**'re the one who suggested me to rest." He pointed out, another smirk finding its way to his lips. "Don't tell me... that suggestion was just an excuse... for monopolizing me?"

"Wah?!" the raven-haired one blushed madly, completely taken aback. "Of course not! I-I'm not a kid anymore, Waka!"

"Then why are you angry?" the young head asked, his eyes now back to the scrolls, but the smirk never fading.

"I-I'm not." Tsurara puffed her cheeks, making Kana sweatdrop in annoyance. That girl was far too easy to read. And also easy to switch moods. As soon as she seemed to have realised something, she brightened up in an instant. "Hey, Waka, how about letting me feed you?"

"Huh?"

"It's fine, isn't it? We used to do that before so Rikuo-sama wouldn't have to waste time and finish work faster, remember?" the aide reminded cheerfully, finally leaving her master's back and moving closer to the tray of breakfast beside his desk. She then grabbed the hashi and, chopping some gohan with it, she lifted the food to the level of Rikuo's mouth. "Okay, 'ahn~'."

Now that scene had just become ridiculous. Kana clenched her hands into fists and for a moment, hoping he would refuse that silly proposal. Yet what Tsurara got as response was a small smile and a friendly frown, together with a hardly visible stain on his cheeks Kana **prayed** that was just the reflection of his eyes. "My bad." He apologized, and when the one in the white kimono was about to protest, he eveloped the gohan with his mouth after saying, "Thanks."

And that was the last drop.

Kana left the room right after that, frustration flowing through her whole mind. She wanted to have had the audacity of asking for permission to enter the room before Rikuo had accepted that bite, so she could be the one to feed him, but her lady-like composture wouldn't allow such a lewd act, even because that would make it kind of obvious she had been eavesdropping.

She had noticed it at last.

How could she have been so blind? It was obvious from the start. When had she even ever seen Rikuo smile that much around someone? And, for all Kami-sama-tachi, that **smile**... It made her shudder everywhere for a second, but Tsurara acted as if it was usual, but of course, it wasn't. He didn't seem so affectionate even with his own mother.

That smile was reserved to his aide alone.

Kana needed to do something. Something that could keep those two apart for a while. After all, even though this had been decided years ago, it was still an arranged marriage, which Rikuo had the right to give up on if he wanted to. But if he did, what would it be of her? After all, women were seen as lowly creatures. The only thing they had the right to call theirs was a family, which in short meant: no marriage, no future. A divorse would be a tragedy, but, even if he gave up before the marriage, who would want a rejected woman as a wife? It was a matter of honor, meaning things were now really serious. Besides, all was fair in love and war, as many people quoted, and Kana **did** love Rikuo genuinely. She was committed to be with him for all eternity, and had prepared herself for that ever since the day she met him. But what if **he** wasn't committed to her himself? She couldn't just sit and watch. Her whole life from then on was in danger. Her only option left was to act.

Act she did.

~o0o~

Hello, RikuTsura shippers! Here is Dennou with her first and suckish NuraMago work for one of her favorite pairings ever (yup, I'm a freaking hardcore RikuTsura fan and not afraid to show it~)! Yes, the plot is underdeveloped, the characters are kinda OoC and the writing is shit, but, I still hope you enjoy it.

I've been thinking whether I should put a glossary in this or not... I mean, Nurarihyon no Mago is a manga for people who understand the ancient side of Japan (and I think I don't need to say that this story goes on in ancient times itself, right?), and from what I've read around, you guys seem to be familiar with the foreign words up there. So if I need to bother doing this, tell me, okay?

I also really need to ask: does it look like I hate Kana? Because I don't. Seriously. I just think there would be no plot without making her a little more jealous of Tsurara with Rikuo than she is in the original story.

Oh, last but not least, I'd like to kindly ask for reviews and thank you all for reading.

PS: if you guys want, I might as well post a RikuTsura story with Rikuo's day form. Maybe even NuraYou or RiWaka/RiYama ones too. It's all up to you to decide if you approve me!


	2. Duty

"E-Eh?! You want me to undo your lugagge? B-But, Ienaga-sama, I don't..."

"It's fine, Oikawa-san. Maki-san and Torii-san can help you." Kana smiled sweetly, gesturing to the maids behind her. "I'm sure you can finish doing that just in time, before we're back."

"But... why me?" Tsurara asked, sweatdropping.

Before the brunette could answer, Rikuo did it for her. "Isn't that obvious? Kana-chan only brought two servants to twenty suitcases. There's no way they can do it in one day. At least not without help." He said rather bluntly, earning an unnoticed frown from both the golden and the onyx-haired maid.

"That doesn't answer my question, Waka. The house has plenty of servants. Besides, I'm already full of work!"

At that, Kana frowned. Why did she have to ask questions, anyways? Did she even have the right to turn down an order in case it wasn't something convenient to accomplish? She was just a servant, so why did she act like she had to be convinced to accept additional duty?

"I hope you're not saying that just to get a compliment, but out of all the servants here, it's pretty obvious who's the most efficient." Rikuo said nonchalantly, grinning inwardly when he caught the aide's slight blush, while Kana's maids yet again found themselves giggling suggestively at them. "Plus, everyone else has work to do, too."

The heiress watched her important person pat Tsurara's head as she admitted defeat and accepted the job, burning on the inside for seeing him go so easy on her. Her smile, however, stayed intact as she tried to control her emotions. The few seconds of visual torture were worth it, though, when she and Rikuo left the mansion, watching the snow white beauty happily wave goodbye at their leaving carriage before closing the gigantic wooden doors of the entrance behind her. Finally, Kana had what she wanted – to spend a blissful day alone with her future husband after five long years.

And, in all of her fifteen years of life, Kana had never thought she could have had such a beautifully flawless day.

Riding throughout Edo in their carriage, she and Rikuo first stopped by many luxurious and expensive stores. The young leader knew very well how his childhood friend enjoyed shopping, even though she was usually an economic person, so he took her to the many famous places he knew that had the best products and let her spend all the money she wanted. At first, she thought it was wrong to let it all on him, but when he incorporated his gentleman side and insisted, she didn't have the heart to complain any more. She even thought of spending the tiniest amounts she could, but that could make him feel insulted, so she ended up deciding not to hold back. She then spent hours trying clothes, ornaments and make-up in front of him, inwardly pleased with his reactions. The way he complimented her made her feel the most beautiful woman in the world.

After that, they had a quick stop to have lunch at an inn Rikuo's father used to spend some nights at when he was young. It was just a simple and not very impressive meal, and for once, Kana had a taste of what commoners usually ate. It wasn't bad, but she admitted she preferred Tsurara's almost frosty cooking. The groom-to-be, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind it, as if he was already used to it. In fact, it could be possible he actually **was** used to being at places like that one, because a lot of people, not only in that inn, but on the streets and in the stores, seemed to know him pretty well as they greeted him friendly while passing by, receiving the same kind actions from him. He really knew how to captivate people, she had decided proudly.

And then, Rikuo led her to one of the Jinja of the city, willing to make Kana remember a bit of her Japanese side and its religion. She complied cheerfully, since her last visite to a Jinja sure had been long ago. He let her decide what Jinja to pick, so she opted for her favorite Kami, Kokehime's. They only spent half-an-hour there, and there were still some places she wanted to see around the Jinja's domain, but they still had lots of visits to pay around. And what made up for the short time there was that it was beyond adorable to see the ruby-eyed youngster praying.

Lastly, they spent the evening in a place Kana didn't even know that existed before, called "Bakenekoya". It was a happy bar with odd but very nice people and good food. Those people had made Kana's day complete with their suggestive comments about her and her mate. Not that they had been the first ones to comment about them, being it everywhere Kana and Rikuo had been, many sweet adjectives were conceived to them by the by-passers, who would always say something like them being a lovely couple or that Rikuo sure had "grown", but Kana hadn't had yet been as flattered as she was by the Bakenekoya's smiley and cheeky workers. They even went as far as calling them "lovers". And, needless to say, Kana's mood was better than ever with that. She was so glad she didn't even notice that, in every and each one of those comments, Rikuo had to resist the urge to do rude things, like frowning or flinching.

And it was right after then her "perfect day" went downhill.

It was already pretty dark as they left, ready to head to the mansion Kana would soon enough be calling her "home", when her "sugar happy" self ruined everything by startling the horse that was supposed to get them there. The response of the animal to her was what she feared the most – a violent one. When she turned around, all she was able to see was an invitation to leave this world. She then squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for the deathly hit she was going to get, knowing there would be no time to even scream for help.

But it never came.

It all happened in a split second. Right after closing her eyes, she heard a disgusting sound of flesh being ripped and bones being broken, before hearing an angsty groan, followed by a crashing sound that resembled water hitting something hard. It all had happened so close to her she thought it was herself who was suffering all of it, the pain being numbed and her notion of space being confused by the impact, so that it was like she wasn't seeing or feeling anything. But when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the same place, watching as the cabby that was leading her and Rikuo throughout Edo trying to calm down the excited horse. For a brief moment, she was immensely relieved she was still alive, but the happiness was only lived until she heard some screams that came from the doors of the Bakenekoya right behind her, which made her snap back to reality.

Rikuo.

He was the reason behind all the screams. And Kana found herself joining them with her own high-pitched one as she saw his figure not very far from her. And, for the first time in her short life, in which she had always had the best comfort zone a girl her age could ever want, Kana had a taste of what it was like to be completely **terrified**. He was lying nearly motionless on the hard ground, his back against a blood-stained wall right across the street, gasping, bleeding, trembling. Then it clicked – he had taken that hit for her, and so thrown onto that wall, which was a good five feet away from the spot she was. It must have been horribly painful, because it had such a well-built man like Nura Rikuo totally damaged. And to know she was the cause of that excruciating pain he must have been feeling was her made Kana utterly miserable and guilty.

Finally able to recover from the shock and forcing her mind to think straight again, – yet still trembling and with tears in her eyes – Kana knew she needed to get him home for medial treatment, or else... she didn't even want to think about what could happen. She was afraid of what could happen to her when everyone back at the mansion got to know she was the reason behind Rikuo's serious injuries, but he was more important at the moment. She then ordered the cabby harshly, who made the poor horse run in agonizing speed all the way to the Nura mansion.

When they arrived there, it was obvious that the one who opened the doors to them was the happy-go-lucky aide, who was, as expected, very satisfied to announce she had finished the duty that had been given to her after greeting them. But when she saw Rikuo's state, her mood and face changed drastically. She didn't even bother asking what had happened then. No, she didn't even bother giving slightest bits of attention to anyone but her master after the cabby took him out of the carriage. The skinny man had barely walked six steps before admitting he wasn't able to hold Rikuo's extremely heavy body any longer, and falling to the floor with him. Luckily, Tsurara was able to grab his muscular form before he hit the ground, and carried him to his room, while the other servants in the house provided him all the help they could get.

Forgotten by the entrance of the Nura house, Kana began to wheep alone and on her knees as she watched workers frantically run around the place. After Rikuo was rescued, she found herself mortified, for many reasons. One of them was how amazingly strong Tsurara was. When her master fell, she was the one capable of catching him, despite all his weight, no matter how skinny and small she was compared to him. And right after that, regardless of being visually shocked with the grave injuries he had, she was the only one that wasn't panicking, telling each and every servant around what to do to help him. Another thing was how such a wonderful day could have ended in such a tragic manner in such a short span of time with such a simple act. And the most important of them all, which was ringing inside Kana's sore mind was how pathetically **useless** she was. It was her fault her dearest Rikuo was like that now, and all because she had allowed herself to feel silly for a moment. And, while she was endlessly happy he took such a risk to save her, she couldn't help but keep in mind nothing would've happened in first place if it wasn't for her. And now, stuck in sadness and despair, all she could do was to pray for him to be alright, because she didn't know anything about medicine, so trying to assist Rikuo or help the ones taking care of him would rather get on their way. Besides, he was still conscious, so she'd have to face him, something she didn't have any hints of courage to do. She had been stupid, and now she was being a coward. Great wife she would be someday.

That was how the tables were turned to Tsurara's side once again, much to Kana's sweet relief yet bitter dismay.

~o0o~

"Maki~" a raven-haired maid called cheerfully, opening the shouji doors of the small room she shared with her blonde mate with a tray in hands. "I brought us breakfast!"

By the morning, the Nura house was at peace once again, since the young head's injuries earned in the previous night's accident were healed and the ruckus calmed. Now all the servants were back to their respective occupations as they waited for their trusted leader to wake up from his deep slumber. There was nothing the Japanese maid was more grateful for, because she was the one who had to spend the night trying to get her mistress to get some rest as she paced back and forth in her room, waiting for news concerning Rikuo's well-being.

The irresistible smell of traditional Japanese food filled the nose of the lazy young woman lying on the fluffy futon in the middle of the room. "Hm... thanks, Natsumi." She said gently, rubbing her tired eyes.

Her friend sat beside her and began setting everything on the floor.

"I see you already know your way around the house, by the way." Saori commented, not wasting a second to dig into the delicious cooking.

"Y-Yes. It had been a while since the last time I've been here, but nothing seems to have changed at all..." Natsumi replied with a small blush that didn't go unnoticed by her British partner.

"'Nothing', you say? Not even **him**?" a smug smirk made its way to the pencan-eyed girl's lips as the other one's blush reddened more. She could perfectly see how straight the brunette's composture had suddenly become as a small drop of sweat fell down one of her cheeks, while her shoulders were raised as her hands slightly crumpled her dress. However, as much as it was enjoyable to see her in the state she was, it also made Saori a bit worried. After all, Torii Natsumi had been her best friend for many years, so seeing her involving herself with an older man she hadn't seen in ages wasn't something a good friend would let slide easily. Even because, knowing Natsumi as well as she did, she was almost sure the girl wouldn't be smiling anytime soon if that man was to ever hurt her. After all, he was all she had been thinking about ever since the day Kana chose both of them to come to Japan with her. And Saori knew that, even before the day she met her, Natsumi already had that man on the back of her silly mind.

"N-No... he did change... a little bit." The maid sputtered nervously, looking everywhere but at her companion. "I-I mean, his hair is longer now and..." and now he looked even more handsome than he already was, she decided, but wouldn't dare to say it out loud.

"Ah, so you met him." Saori deducted as Natsumi fell right into her trap.

"Hum... sorta... y-yeah. It was a very brief encounter, though." The one with feline-like eyes admitted shyly as a small smile appeared on her tiny lips. "But it was enough. He still remembers me, so I'm glad anyways."

"Oh~?" Saori gave her a doubtful arch of a golden brow, making her blush even more.

"Well, that aside... s-say, Maki... do you think Kana-sama would be kind enough to let me have some time off today? Even if it's just an hour, it's enough."

"I see no reason why she wouldn't. Why?" Saori asked, her usually indifferent face becoming wide as she gasped in realization, "Don't tell me you're planning to sneak out with that gu–"

"Oh, Kami, no!" Natsumi was able to become even redder at the idea of having a secret date. Especially with him, of all people. "I just wanted to visit Senba-sama's Jinja. I-It's been so long and all..."

"Hm." Saori playfully pretended not to be that convinced. "I think she'd let you go with no problem, but at least one of us has to stay with her." she then suddenly incorporated a motherly figure. "That means you have to take care of yourself. Don't talk to strangers, don't stay away for too long and always take the safest routes you may find. Understood?"

"Perfectly, Okaa-sama!" the brunette joked as she saluted her friend cutely, earning a sigh and a pat on the head between the lines of "good girl, good girl".

~o0o~

"_I see, so Ojou gave Rikuo-sama a sapphire pendant as a birthday present." Tsurara said understandingly as she wat__c__hed Rikuo open the pa__c__kage sent him __from England__, __f__eeling a bit in__f__erior, even though the second heir didn't seem that amused with the gi__f__t._

_While in her trip to England, the Ienaga heiress seemed to have found what she considered to be the perfect gift, and, upon buying it, she wasted no time before sending it, so it would get there in time before she was back. Rikuo's mother had been the one who received it some months before the Sandaime's fourteenth birthday, and had saved it for the right time. Back home, Kana expected to see him carrying the pendant with him when they met again, not knowing that, when they did, Rikuo would have a much better way to make it up for her birthdays as well, but would end up rather tragically. _

"_Yeah... she told me she chose that __be__c__ause it was my birthstone, but I really don't get this kind of stuff at all..."_

"_Well, this is tradition in English-speaking so__c__ieties, so I don't know mu__c__h about this myself... but Okaa-sama on__c__e told me that there's a spe__c__ifi__c__ gemstone to ea__c__h month of the year of the Georgian __c__alendar, and the one that __c__orresponds to the month of one's birth is that person's birthstone." The aide explained in a know-it-all tone. "I thought it only applied to __Christian__s, though..."_

"_Kana-__chan is a Christian hersel__f__, just like her British Kaa-san, so it's like her to give me something like this." Rikuo said, absent-mindedly staring at the beauti__f__ul gem as he held it with two __fingers before his handsome fa__c__e__. The Sun rays coming __from the open shouji doors that led to the garden in front of his room went straight through the pendant and formed some sort of kaleidos__cope in his blood red eyes. And the very moment Tsurara let her eyes look at his, she was really close to losing her breath._

_It was stunning._

_An amazing mixture o__f mesmerizing purple-looking lights dan__ced into his ruby orbs as he spun the jewel around between his thumb and index. She kept staring and staring until her retina started to burn, and the surroundings o__f__ her __f__ield o__f__ vision began to become dull. His wonder__f__ul eyes, however, stayed in place, until she noticed she had been looking at them __f__or too long, and turned her gaze away with a slight blush. A__f__ter that, a __f__ew seconds passed be__f__ore Rikuo got tired o__f__ looking at the gi__f__t and put it around his neck at once. Tsurara noticed with amusement how well the present had __f__it him, and couldn't help but smile._

"_Well, Ienaga-sama sure has an exquisite taste. As expected o__f__ her." she commented._

"_Na, Tsurara... what about __**your**__ present?"_

"_Ah, that..." she began, her blush reddening a little more. "well, it's obviously not even nearly as good as Ienaga-sama's, but–"_

"_I don't believe that." He interrupted bluntly._

"_Eh?"_

"_Yeah, be__cause, no matter what was the occasion, Tsurara would always make the best stu__ff_ _f__or me." Rikuo said with a small smile, his eyelids low and memories __f__looding inside his mind. "And there was never any need __for your presents to be expensive. They were just... you know, espe__c__ially for me." he put a had on the middle of his large __c__hest, where his pendant was supposed to be, "This, for example, is something Kana-__c__han bought in some fancy shop, where anyone with enough money __can buy as many __copie__s of it as they want. You get it now?"_

_Tsurara's blush was now starting to heat up more than it should, and while she feared it was starting to be__come visible, she just said dismissively, "W-Well, i__f__ Waka says so..." and then pulled out o__f her white kimono's sleeve a pair of well-folded envelopes__, handing them to her master__. "Here. I made them myself."_

_When Rikuo unfolded the presents, he blinked a few times while holding them in front of him. "Gloves?" Tsurara nodded, already sure he'd have that kind of rea__ction. Yet she had thought it was because her present was too simple, but she __figured it wasn't when he asked, "How did you know I needed something like this...? I mean, it's been so long sin__ce we last held hands...__"_

_The raven-haired beauty felt her blush return. "Ah, that... it's my job to look after you, isn't it? Even though I don't tou__ch your hands anymore, I still pay attention to them."_

_He __couldn't help but wonder what else her rather accurate eyes paid attention to._

_"Rikuo-sama's hands have been getting too injured with the intensive training lately, so I thought those __c__ould be useful." Seeing her master start trying the gift made her feel a little uneasy, hoping he would approve it. "I made sure to make them thi__c__k enough to prote__c__t your skin, and flexible enough to move easily. But, like Rikuo-sama said, it's been a while sin__c__e we last held hands, so I'm still not sure if I got your size right just by eye __contact__..."_

_The young head slid the fingerless leather gloves into his hands and to the middle of his wrists, se__curing them. Staring at his __free fingers, h__e opened and closed both hands to test them. Indeed, the gloves __f__it well, and were just like the aide had described: thick yet __flexible. "Woah... ni__ce...__" Seeing his rea__ction, with huge ruby eyes __fully open and__ straight onto the new object as he kept examining them rather curiously, Tsurara had to suppress some giggles behind her kimono's sleeve. Rikuo sure knew how to be cute sometimes, regardless o__f__ his mature __f__igure. But then, a knowing smile __formed on his lips, making her straighten herself. "See what I mean? That's Tsurara for you."_

"_Eh?! Wa-Waka, you __can't be possibly__ implying you like this present better than Ojou's, right? I mean, that gem surely was __**really**__ expensive, and–"_

"_Why not? I just said that didn't matter, right?" he interrupted again with a frown. "I like yours better be__c__ause it __**is**__ better. Tsurara has hand-made me something very useful. But what use would a sapphire pendant have when I've already had a pair of them with me my whole life?" while a smirk made its way through his lips, Tsurara's blush reddened to the maximum as she understood what he meant, his burgundy eyes lo__c__king on her opposing azure ones. A feeling of smug happiness began to sprout inside her as her heart fluttered, but she held ba__c__k the urge to smile and soon tossed her gaze elsewhere, away from his. It was plain wrong allowing herself to enjoy su__c__h a __c__omment, but she really __c__ouldn't **not** do so. And while his stare kept hitting her like bullets when a __couple o__f__ eternal seconds passed, she __felt like she really needed some spa__ce._

"_N-Ne, Rikuo-sama... please, don't look at me like that..."_

"'_Like that'? You mean... like the way you were doing earlier?" although Tsurara didn't dare to look at her master, she could still tell by his voice his smirk had grown a bit. She really didn't think he'd notice her intense stare, and that had made her more embarrassed than she already was. Thank goodness, he decided to change the subject when he noted __how uncom__f__ortable she seemed to be. "Anyways, this present really did make me wonder about something... why is it we don't hold hands anymore?"_

"_W-Wah?! Mou, Waka, you know very well why! We were kids ba__ck then! I__f__ we were to do it now-a-days, we'd look like a couple. That'd be aw__f__ul to Ienaga-sama's image." Tsurara __folded her arms and s__cowled slightly__._

"_Hm...? Sin__c__e when do you __c__are about that?" he raised a brow at her, the smirk magi__cally gone and repla__ced by a questioning look__._

"_E-Eh? Waka, you are not __saying I shouldn't, right? I mean, your bride-to-be–"_

"_That's not what I meant... I was just wondering, be__cause that never seemed to bother you be__f__ore." He explained indi__ff__erently._

"_Th-That was when I still didn't understand how serious a matter o__f__ marriage was. Espe__cially arranged ones.__"_

"_I see... so no holding hands in public ever again, huh?" he asked, as i__f __f__or con__f__irmation, a smile reappearing on his __f__ace. __For some reason, that one seemed to be somewhat mis__c__hievous, like he had something else in mind when asking that question__._

"_T-That's right." She nodded, not liking how mu__ch she had been stuttering._

"_But what about holding hands all alone?" the smile started to grow, and Tsurara began to also not like where that __conversation __was going.__ "I mean, when it's just the both of us, it's okay to do it, isn't it?"_

"_I-It's still wrong, whether there are people to see it o-or not!" the young aide argued, trying to __c__alm down her own hormones._

"_Why would it be wrong? You know, we might not hold hands anymore, but you still __cling to __my arm sometimes."_

"_That's just one more habit I've been trying to __get rid o__f__." She reasoned, a little uneasily._

"_Right. But I still don't get why it is so wrong. At least not when it __f__eels so right."_

_A__fter a while trying to avoid his eyes, this time, Tsurara __c__ouldn't keep her ground. She let her eyes meet his __c__onstant, stern stare for a se__c__ond, and before she __c__ould draw them ba__c__k, she noted he was holding out his hand to her. Her orbs fell down to stare at it for a moment, then went ba__c__k to his own pleading ones. "Rikuo-sama..." she slowly shook her head a little._

"_Come on... just __f__or today... okay?" the way he had asked it was unlike him. It was calm and a little bitter when he said "just __f__or today" (obviously because he didn't want it to be just or that day alone), yet there was the slightest bits o__f__ sweetness in the last word, as i__f__ to encourage her. Re__fusing the kind request would have made Tsurara feel like she was mistreating a defenseless puppy (even be__c__ause it was his birthday), so she allowed her small, smooth and __c__old fingers slide through the spa__c__e between his big, rough and warm ones. Something that seemed to be a mixture of happiness, satisfa__c__tion and nostalgia sparkled inside the hearts of both of them as they let themselves travel ba__c__k in time for a little while._

_Rikuo remembered that one time he'd never be able to erase from his memories, in a __certain night when he was eight. He had spent the day in the yard, and didn't notice how late it had gotten until the sky was completely black. Soon he could see nothing, and became totally disoriented. That was until a little white spot caught his attention. He walked over to it, hoping it would provide him better vision. But when he grabbed hold of it, he finally became aware of what it really was. _

_Tsurara._

"_So this is where you were." A gentle voice he knew all too well had said, and soon the thing he was holding began to hold his hand back. Smooth as velvet, white as snow, cold as ice. Tsurara's hand, no doubt. She was there, standing right in front of him, her unmistakable skin and __c__lothes shining as if they were either made of light or refle__c__ting the moon, and her raven hair mixing with the darkness like it was made of it. And though it was quite an unusual and somehow dim sight, to Rikuo, there __c__ould be nothing more beautiful, especially with the gorgeous smile she wore, which she most of the time reserved just for him._

_That night, something foreign began to form inside of him. Something he had never experienced before, and so he wasn't able to identify back then, yet he was still able to analyse the new feeling. It was like a flower had bloomed deep within the darkness of the very end of his conscience. Now-a-days, he knew quite well what that was._

_While a small smile played on the young head's lips and he closed his eyes to be able to picture the flashbacks playing in his head better to himsel__f__, Tsurara's navigating mind was lost, ba__ck to a time that Rikuo, __for being too young, probably wasn't able to remember at all, but being a year older, she was able to keep the memory with her, and she'd probably never forget it – the day Rikuo said his first word. __The young Nura leader had been an intelligent kid since he was very little, and the proof was that he was already able to use sound and signs to __c__ommuni__c__ate, but not exa__c__tly talk at all._

_That was until he and Tsurara met for the first time._

_She remembered it quite well how he looked when her mother held her in front of him, who was in Wakana's arms. His hair was not yet long, but it was enough to cover his entire head, his cheeks were puffy and pink, his small mouth was agape and his curious, big round eyes were just as wide as hers as he stared cautiously at her, as if he wanted to capture every single one of her movements. She was doing almost the same thing, since she had never had contact with other children, but unlike him, she was finding the experience rather fun, and, instead of being as careful as he was, she tried her best to become close to him. After all, in the future, she was going to be his servant, she knew that much from what her mother did for a living. And so, the minutes went by, while she tried to show the cute soon-to-be-superior a bit of herself. Sadly, he didn't seem to understand a thing as she babbled on, so she thought it'd be better to start from the easiest and then go on. And, luckily, her expectations on him were worth it, because in the end, her last (yet somewhat first) trial worked – her name._

"_Tsu... la... la..."_

_Well, not exactly. Due to the lack of teeth, Rikuo wasn't quite able to say it properly, because the pronunciation of letters like "R" or "T" depended on them. But it was still a good thing he had tried, so he'd be able to say it when he had them, since he was able to catch the word. Besides, it was not like Tsurara was expe__cting him to get it right __f__irsthand. She was happy just with that, and her happiness grew bigger when his mother said it was his __f__irst time saying a __complete word. As a reward for that, she moved her hand forward to pat his head, but he ended up grabbing hold of it before she reached him. His eyes examined her as his fingers intertwined with hers, while she just stood there, trying to figure out what he was doing._

_That had been the first time they had held hands._

"_Tsulala!" she recalled how he had tried to say it again, that time more firmly, the curious look in his shining orbs replaced by some sort of determined one, and how he looked absolutely adorable then. For some reason, probably be__c__ause it had been funny, his attempts had made her burst into giggles, whi__c__h he hadn't seemed to have minded. She also remembered how their mothers seemed a little __c__onfused by their a__c__tions, but __let__ them slide as they ex__changed understanding looks__._

_When Tsurara __compared the __f__eeling o__f__ holding her master's hand back then and at the moment, she could tell just how much he had drastically grown. His size used to be smaller than hers, but now it was way bigger, his smooth in__f__ant skin had turned hard with all the daily training he had and all the writing he was obligated to do, and his little pudgy __f__ingers had become long and rough. And, w__ithout noticing, she was slowly leaning closer to their laced hands as she pictured how Rikuo's hands had become different. She continued to absent-mindedly go on until she felt something itchy against her forehead – hair. When she looked up, she found a pair of marvelous yet frightening orbs staring down at hers, so close she could perfectly see the crimson and ebony lines that composed them. They were looking at her a little more intensely than usual, shining with something she would rarely ever see in them, which was also something that sent chills down her spine._

_Want._

_She wondered i__f he was able to tell her heart had skipped a beat when she figured that look out. It was inevitable, after all, because to think what he seemed to be longing so much for was herself made the huge amount of feelings that had gathered up in her chest blow away. Her damned blush had returned at full-power, and wasn't leaving her cheeks anytime soon anymore. What didn't make the situation any better was the lack of space between them. Not that being lose to each other wasn't something they did everyday, but they had obviously never gotten **that** far._

_Except for that one __fateful __night of spring._

_An unwanted memory filled Tsurara's vision for a moment, making her finally snap from her trance and try to back up, "Wah! I-I'm sorry, Waka!"_

"_Well," Rikuo began, sensing when her forehead lost contact with his. He stopped her from regaining personal space by firming his grip on her hand, which prevented her from letting go, while his other hand made its way towards her back to bring her to her previous position. "__**I'm**__ not."_

_Tsurara pursed her small lips, looking up at her master's closed eyes. She then also closed hers with a sigh, keeping in her mind the lame excuse that it was her master's day, and so she would do as he willed only for the moment._

~o0o~

"Unbearable".

That was the word Tsurara would choose to define the feeling she always had whenever her master was hurt, be it mentally or physically. And though she hated when either of those happened to him, if she was to ever choose between the two, she would prefer him to get hurt physically rather than mentally. It was much faster to heal him that way, even because he had a really strong body. Plus, although he had only **really** shown mental/emotional weakness once in his life, it had taken him **years** to heal himself completely, and the scars still remained until the present day, even if not that aparently.

That one time had been right after his father's death.

The Nidaime's passing away had been a really sad, shocking, sudden notice, and she remembered it clearly, as if it had been the day before. How the clouds were totally dyed gray, how it had rained the whole day long, as if even the sky was crying over him, how she saw the Sodaishou and Wakana's sad faces for the first time, and the whole Nura-gumi had gathered together dressed in black, completely filling the main house with dim sorrow. She was even forced to wear black herself for the first time. And there, amongst all the wheeping and whispering dark crowd, stood a small, sparkling gush of white hair.

_"Rikuo... it's best that you don't know anything... I can't lose you too..." was what the Kumi's Soudaishou had answered to his grandson when he asked about what had happened to his father. His mother had also refused to answer him, which made the poor young master even more confused about everything that was happening, but he stayed in the funeral until the very end, without saying anything else. She had even approached and tried to comfort him, but it didn't even seem like he needed it. He was expressionless, and unlike most of the people present, he didn't shed a single tear._

_For the rest of the day, the main residence remained silent, and no one seemed to have the will to do anything at all. No one. Not even the hardworking young heir, who would, unfortunately, be assuming his responsibilities as the Sandaime sooner than he should._

_Tsurara, after the events of the funeral, thought it was better to leave him alone for the time being, but that changed when even Wakana found herself unable to have him eat his meals. In fact, he wouldn't even allow her to go into his room. And so, even though she was a bit iffy about it, Tsurara complied to try giving him food. And, since it was clear that he most likely wouldn't let her into his room, she decided to not be as easy-going as his mother and just let herself in. After all, someone would have to make him eat something, and if he wasn't going to cooperate, she would have to do it by force. And that was when she got him and was gotten by him by surprise._

_He was crying._

_The moment she slid the shouji doors of his room open, she found a watery, rosy-eyed little Rikuo sobbing to himself all alone, and so she understood the reason why he wasn't letting anyone in. As expected, he tried wiping his tears away, but his face was too red and swollen to have successfully hidden it just like that. He then tried sending her back to her duties, but her stubborn self wouldn't allow her master to keep his sadness all to himself. That time, she was determined to make her introvert and serious superior to open himself with her about it, so she insisted on staying until he couldn't stand it anymore. They almost had their first fight then, but in the end, they really didn't have what it took to get mad at each other, and Rikuo ended up not being able to hold himself._

_He ended up crying on her lap._

_When little, Tsurara did see Rikuo cry some times, and the reasons were usually small things, so he would always recover right away. But, needless to say, that wasn't the case back then. It had been a great loss (and she knew that very well, being it she also didn't have a father herself) which equalled to a great amount of tears._

_The raven-haired child then just sat in a comfortable position as she listened to the ruby-eyed one, sharing a few tears with him herself, while he dampened her white kimono. And, when it was over, he made her swear she wouldn't tell any soul a single word about what had happened as she finally managed to make him eat._

_It was then she understood the true meaning of his actions – he was soon enough going be named the next head of the Nuragumi, and so he couldn't afford to let people see him showing any signs of weakness, even though crying wasn't exactly a sign of weakness at all._

The cold tears that had been filling Tsurara's eyes were at last released as she squeezed her eyelids shut tightly at the memory. That night, she had promised to protect him from further harm the best way she could. Of course that didn't mean he was safe from little inevitable things, like getting some bruises here and there once in a while, but that wasn't the case at the present momen–

"Oi." A familiar, soothing voice said from beneath her, trailing off her thoughts. She then felt something hard and warm reach her left cheek, tracking and wiping away her tears. "That's not how I expect to be welcomed after waking up."

"Ah!" Tsurara opened her eyes – correction, "eye", since there was a big thumb smoothly caressing one of them – and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Relief washed over her tired body as a weak smile made its way to her lips. "Rikuo-sama...!"

"Hey." He smiled almost smugly, his had moving to the other side of her silky face. "How long have you been here?"

"Pretty much the whole night. It's not like I'd ever be able to sleep with Waka in that state. I had to see you wake up first." She answered curtly, knowing he was looking straight into the two dark bags under her eyes.

"You worry too much, idiot. It wasn't that bad."

"No doubt, you've merely broken three ribs and got hematomas all over your back and abs." Tsurara deadpanned sarcastically. "Zen-sama said you'd take a month or two to recover. But, knowing Rikuo-sama's abnormal recovering abilities, I bet you'll be up and about by tomorrow."

"'Zen'? He's here?"

"No, he left at sunrise." she replied, getting hold of his hand after he was done drying her face. "But that was sort of a good thing, right? If it was Ojou that had been hit, she would've probably been killed." And then a faint smile appeared on her pale lips as she brought back the subject, "I guess marriage means taking a lot of risks, ne? You did good, Rikuo-sama."

Hearing her say that, even though she was right, made Rikuo narrow his eyes, disapproval clear in them. He disliked – no, rather hated – whenever she touched the subject "marriage", for many reasons that were pretty obvious to her. He wanted... **needed** to say something against it. Something bold yet subtle. Something that would make her regret mentioning his union with his old friend, Ienaga Kana.

And then he remembered.

Returning the small smile, Rikuo thanked her before saying nonchalantly, "You know, Tsurara... I just remembered... I was having a nice dream."

"Oh? May I know what Rikuo-sama dreamt with?"

"With my last birthday." Was the short and somehow cruel answer the master gave as his fake smile turned into a genuine one. At the implication, he felt slightly satisfied with Tsurara's reaction as she nearly pursed her lips with furrowed brows, her hands curling on her lap. He was even able to see an almost invisible blush on her cheeks, which he was sure that would have been redder if she weren't so tired. She looked quite a bit adorable in her shy/embarrassed form, he had to give her that. The only thing he didn't like was that her smile was gone.

"I... I see–"

"Rikuo~!" Wakana's voice was heard from outside the room, making both young servant and heir shoot their heads towards the shouji doors, to which Rikuo's sore neck protested painfully.

"What?"

"There's someone here to talk to you." Was the simple reply.

"Alright." When Rikuo gave the positive answer, he was expecting his fiancée to be the one appearing in front of him, ready to apologize endlessly for the night before. And, just as predicted, the wavering figure of his insecure arranged woman appeared by the doors. Her expression was still, and she looked tired. Much like Tsurara, she had bags under her big eyes, showing she also hadn't gotten any sleep and had been crying quite a lot. A few seconds after she came in, Tsurara felt like she needed to leave the two alone, but Kana began speaking before she could do so, leaving her with nothing but the desire to know what her mistress-to-be would have to say.

"Rikuo-kun... I'm really sorry." She began in the most predictable way. "The one at fault for all of this is no one other than me. Me, and me alone." Already annoyed, Rikuo was about to protest when she held her hand out, meaning she wasn't yet done. "I'm your wife-to-be," she went on, not seeing how Rikuo and Tsurara fought to keep still at her sentence. "the one who's supposed to help lift the weight of being a leader of your shoulders, even if it's just a little. That means I should never trouble you, and when you are troubled, I should assist you. But last night, I did the exact opposite." Her voice soon began to falter, as if she was about to start crying yet again, but her eyes weren't able to produce any more tears. "I was powerless, useless and hopeless. I seriously don't know what could have happened to you because of me if it wasn't for Oikawa-san and Zen-sama. That's why..." Kana looked up with a deep breath, doing something she had never done in her life, something that she would only do for someone she really cherished, something she was endlessly ashamed to let Tsurara see her doing.

Bowing onto the floor.

Both master and aide had to hold back the urge to let their jaws drop, wide eyes locked on the heiress's resentful form. Rikuo clenched his hands into fists as he remembered the night before – how Kana had panicked to the extreme after seeing him take that hit, how she had tried to help the cabby put him into the carriage, and how much she had cried while hugging his head as they headed home, mumbling a thousand "I'm so sorry"s to his almost unconscious self. She must have had the worst moments of her life there, when it was supposed to be the contrary, and now she thought she had the obligation to apologize to him so humiliatingly.

It was all the other way around – he was the one who had failed her.

"Rikuo-kun, forgive me for being a burden. Forgive me for making you feel pain. Forgive me for being such a far cry from what a bride should be. If I am to be punished for that, I–"

"Okay, enough." Already not able to take it any longer by the very moment he heard the word "punished", Rikuo interrupted suddenly, yet not quite roughly. "First off, I don't keep 'burdens' with me, so if you're here right now, that definitely means you're not one. Now stand up."

Raising her head, Kana's eyes became a void of emotions as she did what she was told.

He took a breath before going on, "Like you just said, you're my wife-to-be. I also have obligations towards you. And I think it's pretty obvious the most important of them all is protection. I have to be there for you when you're in danger, just like I always am for everybody else who needs my help." It was very easy to catch the blush on Kana's cheeks as he proceeded with his speech, which wasn't surprising to him at all. When they were kids, he saved her several times from many dangerous situations – things like facing a street animal or falling from a tree – and so it was easy to tell just by her reactions to his protective persona how she had a liking for the role of the "damsel-in-distress". He also had always had the feeling that some of those times, she was the one who had looked for trouble just to be rescued, for she loved to fantasize about those kinds of mushy things she used to read in her English, romantic fairytale books.

She was the complete opposite of Tsurara, after all.

"Anyways, there's nothing to blame yourself for. Even because it was all an accident. Besides," at last, a smile formed on the Wakagashira's lips. "you shouldn't underestimate me. I've been through worse. That was no big deal." He assured, a hand raising to his reliable chest.

At that moment, Kana was able to catch a glimpse of something shining under his gi and something thin wrapped around his neck. She then understood with glee – it was the birthday present she had given him the year before. He had worn it all that time and taken such good care of it not even that hit could have scratched a single inch of it. And that was all it took for the heiress to also start smiling herself. Happiness started to fill her heart as she walked over to him. Seeing her response to his trials to make her feel better worked, Rikuo felt warmer and calmer. And, after she thanked him a billion times, which wasn't a bother to him at all, the two of them had breakfast alone together, while Tsurara took her leave to finally get some well-deserved rest.

~o0o~

"Ne, Jou-chan, you goin' somewhere?" an old, muscular man asked with a disgusting wink and a menacing smirk. Some men that were together with him did almost the same as more of them gathered around an undefended, foreign-dressed lady.

Why was it that things had to turn out like that?

Natsumi was so sure the shortcut she had taken from the Senba Jinja to the Nura house was the safest way to get there, and yet what she ended up finding was a bunch of perverted bums in a slim alley. There seemed to be no sight of other women around, which explained their excitement over her. And, unfortunately, there was also no one around to help her. The only people that seemed to be living in that smelly, messy street were carefree and drunk men, surrounding her with suggestive expressions and making her start panicking.

What was going to happen to her?

Those guys looked rather like wild animals; Natsumi really couldn't differ them from a pack of hungry wolves. They were definitely not going to hold back. Hundreds of unwanted mental images started to run through her head as her body began to tremble and her heart to beat unevenly, her eyes wider than normal as she desperately tried to find a way to escape from the terrible destiny that awaited her fragile body.

But, much to her incredibly lucky relief, she didn't have to.

"Excuse me." a firm voice called, sounding rather serious, as if demanding attention instead of asking for it. That voice... Natsumi knew it all too well.

It was one of the things that hadn't changed in **him**.

The group of shameless men reluctantly turned their heads towards the source of the interruption, irritated and pissed off expressions soon becoming surprised and frightened as they seemed to recognize the one standing before them as well as the only female did. Long, brilliant black hair danced in the wind while small, stern eyes glared deathly at anyone but the fearful girl, shadowed by a round, traditional bamboo hat. For a couple of eternal seconds, the only thing that could be heard in the crowded alley was the sound of zouri rubbing against the sandy ground as the only properly-dressed man walked into the center of the circle of men and closer to the now smiling and calmed form of the kitty-faced young lady.

"Nu..." someone dared to break the silence, "Nura-gumi's Kurotabou...!" amazed and scared whispers followed soon after as the men started to back up.

As response for the sudden opening for imposing authority over the gathering of around twenty people, the so-called "Kurotabou" gently put a hand on Natsumi's no longer tense shoulder. "This Ojou-san is an acquaintance of mine." He spoke in a serious yet smooth tone, as if to secure said young woman everything was going to be alright. "I'm taking her with me now. Farewell."

And with that, the two were gone down the street with the men opening a path for them.

~o0o~

Whoa, just... **w****h****oa**. Guys, I seriously don't know what I did to be so loved by you. You're really awesome to me. I wanted to thank you all who read this, alerted me, reviewed to me and all of that. I didn't think RikuTsura had such a fanbase, since there aren't that many NuraMago stories here. XD

Okay, so, about this chappie, I have some things to make clear:

1) Yeah, this "flower in the darkness" stuff is from the manga. If I'm not wrong, the phrase "a mysterious flower blooms in the darkness" was mentioned in the cover of chapter 83, in which Rikuo and Tsurara are alone together. I used it as reference because I think that with that phrase, Shiibashi-sensei was hinting Rikuo was starting to fall for her. I mean, it was so suggestive that they were together when such a thing was written right beside them... also, there were heart-shapped sakura petals falling over them and Rikuo was holding a traditional umbrella, which I believe you all know it's the symbol of love in Japan. Yeah, like I said, I'm a forever _**H-A-R-D-**__**C-O-R-E**_ (no, I'm not exaggerating in this) RikuTsura shipper, so I do pay attention to these little details.

2) I know... I KNOW THIS IS TOO OOC (ESPECIALLY RIKUO, OMG), TOO ROMANTIC, TOO IDIOTIC, TOO RIDICULOUSLY WEIRD, BUT I'LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING AS THE STORY DEVELOPES, SO PLEASE, DON'T START HATING ME NOW! TTATT

3) No one has asked for a glossary (thank goodness!) so I won't be putting it here~! However, I received some requests for RiWaka and RiYama stories, so I'll be planning a good one for now! If you have any ideas, please.

4) this is the first time I managed to post a story earlier than a month after the last update, so be proud! BE VERY PROUD! XD Oh, and, I'm going on a trip to USA (wait or me, sis! I'm coming!) in some days, and I'll be spending two weeks there. When I'm back, I'll properly reply to your reviews and messages.

5) the moment of the pendant was the biggest flashback I've ever wrote, and the inspiration was from a story I read. Surprisingly, it was a RikuKana one. And it was deleted, so I wanted to make the idea live. Anyways, thanks, flor03-chan, for the inspiration! I owe you one!

Hum, yeah, that's it. I just hope I haven't screwed up with this chappie, cuz I think lots of things are lacking sense... but I have good excuses! I've been fighting a flu and helping with the arrangements of the upcoming trip while making this! So, hum... yeah.

Review, please?


	3. Loyalty

Sometimes, Kana wondered what her own mental age was. Despite her flawless fifteen-year-old body, her mind didn't seem to follow her growth spurt as she found herself still having thoughts, actions and feelings that were pretty much like the ones she used to have five years ago, towards one person in particular – Oikawa Tsurara. It was really curious how the servant girl seemed to have nothing against her anymore, for she would not interrupt her, cast her frosty glares or even send her indirects like she used to. It was as if she had magically matured with time. Kana was supposed to do the same – no, rather, she was the one supposed to have matured sooner. She was her superior, that meant she had to **act** superior. She was supposed to have known better and developed faster, and yet... she couldn't help but still be as childish towards the bluenette as she was before (but of course, only inwardly, because she wouldn't dare to show any apparent signs that she was actually affected by the aide's relationship with her master).

Kana had succeeded in growing up for a while, though. In England, she had been able to forget Tsurara for some time, but as she finished her trip, which took **incredibly** long, she was a kid again, before she could have even noticed. Still, after thinking about it over and over, she decided to choose the same path the attendant did and be the good-hearted and noble lady she usually was, even with her, of all people. After all, the past was in the past, and, although Kana had already failed in trying being herself again two consecutive times, with that very same thinking, she still thought it was the best thing to do. She wasn't losing it again, that was for sure.

Keyword: "was".

She was determined to be as welcoming and gentle with the lower young woman as she was with her, until **that** happened yet again, remembering Kana one more painful time why she would always travel back through memories with a familiar and despiteful knot in her chest. And, by "that" it's meant whenever she walked into the sort of things she wanted to see the least in the world.

The moments when it was clear how unbreakable was the bond between the one she loved the most and the one she disliked the most.

Now, she found herself standing in front of her precious one once again that day, with his most trusted servant beside him, just like last time she had seen them. Obviously, that wasn't the reason to make Kana regret trying to enter Rikuo's room just like Tsurara did – without his consent or permission – that afternoon. What had done so was the position they were in. Not that she had never seen them close together, but this time was nothing like she had ever witnessed in that household. It was even worse than having to see Rikuo leaning his face against his aide's to check if she had a fever, peeping through his door and finding her hugging him from behind, or having to acknowledge her as the only one he had ever showed his exposed body to. No, this time, he wasn't actually naked before her, with only the upper half of his body showing. But the thing there wasn't that Tsurara was able to see him, since she was obviously already used even to his manhood.

It was that she was also the only one he allowed to touch his bare body, too.

All Kana could do was to stare by the doors as she watched everything going on slow motion in a few long seconds as the head bodyguard helped her master wash his body. Since he wasn't yet ready to be moving around much, if he was to do it by himself, it would be quite a bit painful. Tsurara assisted him by diving a piece of fabric into a wooden bowl filled with water, squeezing it dry and then using the little water that stayed in it to clean the spots of Rikuo's body that hadn't been bandaged, but only after changing the old and blood-stained bandages for new ones, while he just sat there quietly. It was a simple duty, yet it was rather suggestive with two people of the opposite sex. Such intimate closure... sinful even.

And it hurt.

It all hurt Kana deep inside her heart yet again – not only the usual lack of borders in the commander-commanded relationship, but also the look in Rikuo's face as he stared down at the bluenette before him, who was self-consciously keeping her head down, concentrating on her work. He didn't have in his eyes that serious, indifferent look he usually gave everyone. Hell, Kana would have preferred much more to have seen that in him than the look he actually had, yet she found everything but. And another thing that really got her frustrated was that she couldn't decide on what look that one was. All that she could see was that he seemed to be in some kind of trance, for Kana was in his field of vision, but he hadn't even noticed her presence.

It was as if nothing else in the world existed to him.

Her mouth fell, her hazel eyes widened, her cheeks reddened. And all she could muster was a small and weak "Ah..." as she froze by his shouji doors.

Hearing her faint voice, Rikuo seemed to have snapped back into life as he finally looked at her with obvious but slight surprise. "Kana-chan?"

At the name, Tsurara also turned her head to see the blushing heiress behind her. Immediately, her own face started to become red as well. "I-I-Ienaga-sama?!"

The brunette's instinctive response was to turn around. She clenched her hands into fists in front of her, pursing her small, rosy lips as her blood started to run hotter than usual in her veins. "I-I'm so s-sorry..." she apologized, quite lamely.

The reason why it was a female who was doing that job was obvious to Kana – it would have been very awkward to Rikuo to have another man running his hands through his body, and having his own mother doing that would have been even more so. And, knowing him, it was pretty easy to guess who, amongst all the women servants of the main house, would be his first choice to entrust himself to. But... why did it have to be a servant? Why couldn't it be Kana herself? She was his fiancée, for crying out loud! The only one who should be allowed to have that kind of intimacy with him, regardless of whoever he had spent more time with, should be her, because, soon, she decided while blushing even more, he would be hers and she would be his. That would be the right thing to do, considering their upcoming wedding, although Kana would not be able to do anything if, even after the marriage, Rikuo kept that same scheme. Yet, even though Kana did have her insecurities regarding that matter, she highly doubted someone as scrupulous as Nura Rikuo would banalize their future relationship, unless he thought what he would be doing thereafter wasn't a banalization at all, which was a lot possible, because he didn't seem to see his relationship with Tsurara as an intervention to his marriage. Or maybe, things were the other way around – he didn't seem to see his marriage as an intervention to his relationship with Tsurara. That seemed to be more like it, even though Kana prayed that reality was a little kinder. Still, if anything, she would just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. After all, his love wasn't her priority of things to conquer, but to realise the union with him, so that she would not only be the first one to give herself to him, but be able to solve utterly important matters regarding her household.

"A-Ano, Ojou..." Tsurara began hesitantly, "would you mind... coming back later...? I-I promise it won't take long."

A vein almost popped at the brunette's temple at the question. Through gritted teeth, she gave an answer before she could even stop herself, the other two not noticing her change of tone and mood as venom dripped from her lips, "Yes, Oikawa-san. I would mind quite a bit." After the words left her mouth, Kana's eyes widened and she nearly gasped, surprised and alarmed with her very own self. When it was too late to grab the words back, she uneasily opted for continuing, taking a deep breath. The only thing that motivated her to go on wasn't the will to at last have access to her future man's body, for just thinking about it sent shivers up her thin spine, but the fact that, although Tsurara had made a polite request, it still angered Kana that she was being asked to step aside and leave her groom to another woman's care. Trying to choose her words wisely, the short-haired young woman elaborated her argument. "I should be the one doing that. I can't help but feel the need... to fix all of this."

Hearing her, Rikuo sighed, "Kana-chan, I already told you that wasn't your faul–"

"Mo-Mou, Rikuo-kun...! It's not about **that** anymore." The heiress interrupted, almost impatiently. "Remember what I told you earlier? This is part of the wife's duty. I just **cannot** stand just watching everyone doing their best without being able to do anything to help you. Try to understand how I feel right now. It's..." her voice began to falter, "really painful."

With that, both master and servant caught on what Kana meant pretty quickly. It was probably a real pain to her not being able to make something that was meant for her to do work, especially when that small failure was making the entire mansion look down on her and her union with their leader. Rikuo was tired of explaining everything to everyone in secret, but even so, he could still perfectly understand his subordinates did have reasons to doubt Kana's guts, because even he himself did so sometimes.

"That's why, Oikawa-san... change places with me... please."

At the scene before her, Tsurara's expression softened. While Kana's determination warmed her heart, it also left a part of it a bit cold, but she could bear with it quite well. With that feeling, she could take notice of how much things had changed over the years, herself included. Some time ago, she would most likely have death-glared her future mistress and fought for being the only one to have the right to touch her master's body so intimately, and she was pretty sure that was exactly what Kana was expecting when she made her request.

But none of that was going to happen anymore.

"Understood." At last, Tsurara gave Kana an off-character, gentle smile as she made her way to the shouji doors. Reaching the lady's embarrassed and insecure form, who was completely taken aback by the positive response, she asked, "Are you sure you won't need help?"

Kana blinked a few times at the kind question, as trying to find out who in the world was standing in front of her and what they had done with the icy, menacing and frightening girl the Oikawa Tsurara she knew used to be. But then again, things were a lot different now, and the fact there were no more signs of scrawniness in Rikuo's now perfected figure was also a concrete proof everyone really had changed. It was with that in mind that the Ienaga daughter felt safe to smile back and answer in the same level of politeness, "No, thank you. I'll be fine." Or, at least, she hoped so. The thing was that she really didn't have a clue of what she was supposed to do, for she had voluteered to do the work without thinking straight, and the last thing she wanted was for Oikawa Tsurara, of all people, to be there watching if she did something wrong – or rather, **when** she did – and even have the heart to help her defeated and hopeless self. And all of that in front of Rikuo.

No. Freaking. Way.

Again, the response was ever so simple – a small nod – as Tsurara slid the shouji open. "Well then, if you change your mind, you know where to find me." she let herself outside, giving the two one last bow. "See you later, Rikuo-sama, Ienaga-sama."

Still looking at the snow white beauty, Kana's smile grew slightly as she remembered something she had been wanting to say for quite a while. "Oikawa-san, I think it's about time we've stopped with these formalities. I'll soon be carrying the 'Nura' name, so I think 'Ienaga-sama' isn't that appropriate anymore. Don't you agree?" At the suggestion, Tsurara couldn't help but show her surprise by staring almost blankly at the chocolate-eyed female. Kana once more prepared herself for a dark look, nasty reply, anything of the sort.

But what came was actually another smile.

"Okay... Kana-sama." The long-haired maiden nodded yet again, taking her leave for good as she stole one last glance at the Sandaime, who she noticed to be very quiet ever since the interruption. What met her was a longing, almost pleading burgundy gaze, which was out of character of the Wakagashira. If he was planning to affect her, he was certainly doing his job well, but she only allowed herself to melt over it with a crimson blush when she had closed the doors completely, after giving him an apologetic but encouraging look.

When Tsurara was no longer in sight, with blood going all the way up to her ears, Kana took one last deep breath to stable her uneasy heartbeat, and, for what seemed to be an eternity, she turned on her heel, finally facing the half-naked figure of her fiancé. Much like the last time she had seen him, she felt the hairs on the back of her arms and neck rise as butterflies made their way through her stomach. But now, unlike then, she realized, trembling, she had all the time she wanted to devour every single inch of him with her curious, once innocent eyes. And, of course, innocence and alienation weren't the same – although Kana was a pure, unstained girl, she did have an idea of how the opposite sex's structure was, and so she was able to see how Rikuo's was able to take that to a whole new level.

He was majestic – godly even.

The chocolate-haired young woman thanked the kami-sama-tachi that he had his eyes on the floor, so that she wasn't feeling as embarrassed and shy as she would under those intense eyes she dearly adored. But then, she remembered he had his eyes on Tsurara all the time she had been there. Not that Kana couldn't care less about it, since she had many more things in her mind as she dared to step closer, one step at a time, until she was feeling safe enough to walk over to him.

When she reached and sat on the spot Tsurara had been sitting on, Rikuo finally rose his head a little to make eye contact, but this time, it was Kana's turn to avoid him as she nervously tossed her gaze to the floor, her hands clenching on her lap as she attempted to make her voice come out, which ended up being pretty weak. "S-S-So, Rikuo-kun... w-where should I...?"

Seeing his fiancée a bit troubled to finish her statement, Rikuo answered with ease as soon as he caught on, "Don't worry, you won't have to do much. Tsurara has already done my back and front, and since I'll obviously do the waist down part myself, all that's left are my arms."

"I-I see." She muttered, disappointed yet relieved the undeclared rival had done most of the job, deciding she would do her best and try to enjoy the contact nonetheless as she set herself to his left side first. "W-Well then, if you excuse me..." and with that, she took the already wet fabric from the floor as Rikuo extended his arm to her. While she brought down the object through his sore skin, she couldn't help but be utterly amazed as blood started to run faster through her veins, courtesy of her uneven heartbeats. The little water easily dissolved the dry sweat on him, bringing up his muscular scent to the lady's tiny nose, to which she nearly lost her breath. But, at the same time, she couldn't help but be furious with herself as she finally took her chance to observe his wounds, thinking about how much pain she must have caused him because of a single mistake.

Silence grew between the two for a while as Kana did her best on her work. She sometimes hurt him, but Rikuo didn't bother showing that, for he was quite a bit distracted with his own thoughts. That didn't go unnoticed by the arranged wife, who was deeply wondering why was he sometimes staring at her hands, and then down at the place Tsurara previously was.

Could it be... he missed her touch already...?

Trying to shake off the unpleasant thoughts, the brunette yet again resumed concentrating only on the Nura leader and how it was amusing to be that close to him, touch him, smell him... until he interrupted her trail of thoughts himself.

"Kana-chan." He called softly.

"Y-Y-Yes...?!"

"Earlier, when you came in, you seemed to want to tell me something. What was it?" he asked, quite smoothly.

"A-Ah, that..." she paused, trying to think straight while drawing her mind away from the incredible body before her, remembering what she had wanted to say, "hum, i-it was about... Hatsumoude."

Hatsumoude – the first visit of the year the Japanese paid to their Jinja, which Kana and Rikuo had done the day of that terrible accident. He wondered what she wanted bringing that subject out. Maybe... she wanted to go there one more time to make it up for the little time they had spent at the Kokehime Jinja.

"Hm?" he gave her a wondering arch of a silver brow, "Are you saying... you want to go again?"

"W-Well, yes." She answered, taking a breath to try to stop stuttering so much. "But, this time... I wanted to go with more people."

"Where are you trying to get at?"

Kana swallowed hard. He was just as "to-the-point" as always. "I... yesterday, I... remembered something I had been wanting to do for really long, but if you feel uncomfortable about it, you can tell me." he nodded, giving her space to continue. "I was wondering... do you still keep contact with our old friends? Y-You know, Kiyotsugu-kun, Shima-kun and Yura-chan."

At the question, thousands of memories came flooding into Rikuo's mind – memories about the few friends he was able to make through Kana and some of her noble parents' friends' children, when he was little and still with time to fool around like any normal child. There was Kiyotsugu, a loud young man who had a freakishly strange liking for the occult and the supernatural; Shima Jirou, a funny blond who was oddly addicted to sports; and Keikain Yura, an apathetic girl from a family of Onmyouji. He and them had always gotten along well, though their relationship was not a normal one, for none of them, except for Kana, could be called "normal". Kiyotsugu, being a lover of the mysterious and the different, had formed a bond with Rikuo ever since their first meeting, since he did have quite the unique looks. Unluckily, that worked out backwards to Yura, who was never very close to him exactly because of his appearance, claiming he looked rather like some sort of Youkai, going as far as nicknaming him as such, especially because of his red orbs. Some times, she even threatened to try exorcising him. Needless to say, that didn't please his guardian at all, so she and Tsurara also weren't that friendly with each other. Still, she was good friends with Kana, so she had to be around them quite a lot, but she proved not to care less about it most of the time. And Jirou, well... he didn't seem to like Rikuo that much either, and Rikuo himself was clueless about the reason, but he had the slight feeling it somehow involved Tsurara. That aside, he knew Jirou secretly admired him quite a bit.

He wondered why Kana was bringing that subject now. Maybe she wanted to see them again? Most likely.

"Yeah, kinda." He answered nonchalantly. "Why?"

"W-Well, you see..." she began, finishing his left arm and moving to the other. "it's been very long since I last saw them, and I've only been keeping in touch with them through letters... so I... I wanted to see them again. I wanted all of us to be reunited and have fun together like we used to. So... if it's possible, can we... go again... with them?" she put the fabric on the bowl of water, facing him in the eye for the first time, her tiny hands on her lap. "Please...?"

Hearing her request and looking straight at her shiny and pleading puppy-like eyes, which didn't seem to have the effect Kana wanted on him, the white-haired master couldn't help but find the idea quite interesting. With a small smile, he gave a positive answer.

"R-Really...?! Th-Thank you so much, Rikuo-kun!" Kana beamed with joy. "Then, when is it a good day?"

"Anytime is fine by me. The rest is up to you to decide." Was the plain response, which ended up making the brunette even happier.

And with that, awkward silence enveloped the room again as the Sun set.

~o0o~

Torii Natsumi was a humble young woman who had always lived a simple life. She was a poor girl ever since birth, raised by her grandmother, Torii Hibari, who had been an employee of the Ienaga for a long time. That was why Natsumi had never thought she would ever have a taste of what the life of noblity was like, even though she was able to become the personal maid of the Ienaga heiress herself. All that was left for her was to imagine how it could be if she was in her shoes. Perhaps that was the reason she had quite the good time when her hero, one of the most feared assault officers of the Nura-gumi, saved her for the second time in her life in such a way. By the time they started walking through the dirty streets with everyone's eyes on them, she was feeling like a **real** Ojou-sama, lowering her head so that no one would notice her embarrassment and timidity. And things only got better when her right heel broke due to the uneven ground, which made Kurotabou feel the need to carry her. Not that he was getting a "no" as response, anyways.

He was a real gentleman, just like last time they had met.

As the distance to the main Nura residence became smaller, Natsumi feared her fantasies would come to an early end, but those thoughts changed when, instead of coming through the front gate, Kurotabou opted for the backdoors. Those were a shortcut to his room, which had many medical resources he kept in case of emergencies, due to his dangerous occupation. And, after making sure his companion was comfortable, he proceeded to clean the wound that was left from the almost fall when her foreign shoe broke, earning a pained gasp from her.

He looked up at her blushing face, her onyx eyes shyly focusing on her hurt foot. "Forgive me." he apologized, his gaze back to his careful work as her head shot up.

"N-N-No...! Th-There's no r-reason to be sorry. Ku... Kurotabou-san has..." at the sound of his name, the Souhei's tiny eyes were again trying to find the maid's uneasy ones, yet they were again able to escape as they closed themselves. "h-helped me one more time. Th-Thank you." As the words left her lips, unwanted memories awoke from long slumber, locked inside the very end of the brunette's mind, for those had been horrifying moments of her childhood.

Natsumi's neighborhood in Japan wasn't safe. She lived in a place that pretty much resembled the one she had been earlier with all of those men, in a really similar situation. She remembered how the children of a fat woman's house right beside hers approached her when she was out buying some food; she remembered how their hateful and malicious smiles grew when, after they snatched hers and her grandmother's food from her, they started to mercilessly beat her to the ground; and, more importantly, she remembered how her savior looked like some sort of demonic Kami as a halo, made of the sunrays blocked by his big round hat, eveloped his figure with a thin shell of light as his body stayed shadowed, the only visible thing aside from his silhouette being his gleaming narrowed eyes.

He hadn't even needed to do anything. The kids had ran home without taking the food out of fear, but Natsumi's groceries were ruined when they dropped them to the ground and stepped onto them as they desperately escaped. She recalled how she had wanted to cry out loud, not only for her filthy and beaten up body, but just the thought of having nothing to give her hardworking grandmother to compensate for her harsh life of maid, and, in addition, being unable to help her since she was too young to work, made her feel completely useless. If she only she had been more careful...

She wouldn't have met the man that changed her life.

His ten-year-old self had offered his hand. With the encouraging act, she was able to hold back her tears. Much like the present time, he had carried her weak form to the Nura mansion, without anyone knowing, except one of his comrades, known as Kino Kejourou, who helped him hide her during her stay. And, what a long stay that one had been. With her grandmother at work, Natsumi wouldn't have to worry about being late, but she wasn't planning on staying until the Sun was nowhere in sight, either. Still, she couldn't have helped but enjoy every single second of it.

Kejourou was a friendly and beautiful woman. She had helped Natsumi move around the house without getting caught to take a bath at the Nura Onsen and even lent her some old clothes, which she had to fix to match the little girl's size. Natsumi was really impressed how the woman hadn't changed much over the years, and even remembered her at first sight when the two met again, just like Kurotabou had.

Later, after she was clean and dressed, she was taken back to Kurotabou's room successfully, and, there, the two lived another situation that was pretty much like the one they were in now. Only, back then, Natsumi had many more wounds, so they really did spend some time alone together, while Kejourou covered up for them, but not before giving Natsumi something to eat and regain her energies. Luckily, their façade worked out pretty well, and they weren't discovered.

While being medically treated by the young Souhei, Natsumi couldn't help but wonder why he was being so incredibly nice to her without asking for anything in return. He and Kejourou were completely different people from any other she had ever met, save her grandmother and dead parents. They were definitely not part of the reality she daily lived, and maybe that was why she liked them so much. Kejourou was probably her first true friend, and Kurotabou...

Her first love.

It wasn't long until he finished fixing the parts that he could touch in her fragile child body, and, soon enough, the two were walking home. As he left her by her small, decaying excuse for a house, she kept bowing and thanking him with tears in her cat-like eyes and a visible blush on her puffy cheeks, thanking him for everything he had done, and for being as kind and gentle with her as no one ever had. At that point, she didn't even mind if he asked for money in exchange of his services. She would gladly give him anything, and explain it all to her grandmother later, who she was sure that would perfectly understand everything. But, much to her surprise, he asked for nothing in return. Instead, he just patted her head with a smile and left, but not before he said a couple of sentences that forever changed her point of view of things.

Especially of the Nura-gumi.

She had been trying to keep contact with him and Kejourou through letters ever since, dedicating herself as much as she could trying to learn how to read and write. Unfortunately, thanks to the lack of time and the increasing distance between the three, it became harder and harder for Natsumi to stay in touch with them. As the years went by, she lost contact completely. Still, she wouldn't stop thinking about the time she spent with them – Kurotabou in particular – for a single day, until Kana announced she wanted her and Saori to come with her back to Japan. With her grandmother's passing away before the Ienaga went to England, Natsumi didn't have anything attaching her to the other country, so she accepted the offer quite happily, and so did Saori, who also didn't have a family anymore. Now, thanks to that, she was reliving the best moments of her life – those which she would never forget, no matter how young she was.

It was all like a dream to her.

The raven-haired man's lips curled into a smile at the the young woman, something that was very rare to someone as serious and still as him, as he told her the same thing he had said back when he left her at the safety of her home, "You don't have to thank me. I was merely doing my job as a member of the Nura-gumi, after all."

Hearing that, Natsumi flinched. She hadn't had the power to say anything back at the first time she had heard him say such a thing, but this time, she would let everything she had been keeping in her mind about that night out. "Y-You said the same thing... that time..."

Narrow eyes looked up again, finally finding what they were looking for – a shy, blushing, and innocent onyx stare. His eyebrows furrowed fondly, "I see, you remember that."

"I remember everything from when I first met you."

Kurotabou blinked twice in surprise, as if trying to take in the information. That girl... at such a young age... maybe he hadn't paid enough attention to how affected she was by him. "O-Oh, is that so...?"

"Hm-Hm." She nodded feebly. "A-And, back then, I had wanted to say something to you when you said that." with a pause, the girl took a deep breath before going on. "I... I think you're wrong. Be... Being part of the Nura-gumi isn't what makes you the good-willed and kind person that you are. That... that's a trait of your own, Kurotabou-san. The majority of the members of this Kumi here may be the same as you, but, I know there are some that aren't, for I've been pratically directly involved with this house ever since I started serving Kana-sama." she hung her head slightly, "A-And, when you say things like that... like telling me not to thank you... I feel like you're pushing yourself down in some way. I... hate that."

Finishing her statement, Natsumi exhaled surprisingly calmly. Kurotabou, on the other hand, couldn't be more apalled as he stared, almost wide-eyed, at her serious, out-of-character form. Her eyes were no longer insecure, bearing a firm and still look as they intensely stared into his. However, her unlady-like facial expression was there in a second, and miraculously gone the next, replaced by one of pure surprise with her very own self as the brunette covered her mouth with both hands. If he wasn't so impressed with how time had flown fast, he could have laughed at her funny face.

That little girl had become a woman.

It was hard for him to believe how much he had influenced her life with simply doing what he thought that was right back when he found her being beaten by older kids. A man like him could never bear to leave her alone in that state, no matter how much she could fight back not to come with him. But, surprisingly, when he took the five-year-old to the mansion, she was either too shocked to move or finding the experience very interesting, because she didn't say a word until they reached his room. As the hours passed, he noticed how, even with all her insecurity, she had been smiling brightly, yet she was still a very weak, poor little child. A child he wasn't able to see in her anymore the present time. The Torii Natsumi he first met was different from the one before him. She was still a kind-hearted girl, pure and quite a bit adorable, but that wasn't all.

She had also become strong and mature.

The thought of having been the reason why she had changed so much – and for the better – delighted the raven-haired Souhei. And, while she started to embarrassedly babble on, looking anywhere but at him, he just sighed as he raised his hand, the smile never leaving his face.

"I-I-I'm so sorry...! This must have sounded really weird, right? Y-You're free to forget everything about tha–" with an even redder blush on her face than she had before, Natsumi stopped all her movements when she felt something warm and a bit rough against the top of her head. Hesitantly looking up, she soon figured she was being gently patted.

"You've grown up, Ojou-san."

At the comment, the brunette found herself unable to move for some everlasting seconds. She didn't know why he was saying such a thing, why he was touching her so kindly that she was sure her heart was about to explode, or why he was suddenly not giving her the respectful amount of personal space she deserved anymore, but she instantly found out she didn't want to think about it. In fact, she wasn't even thinking straight about anything at the moment.

Except for him.

For days, weeks, months, **years**, he had been haunting most of her thoughts, and, sometimes, when she thought she could at last get rid of him, he would even appear in her dreams to remind her he was still there, hidden within the botton of her mind, for some reason she herself couldn't understand well at the time. But, when she got the offer to go to Japan from her mistress, everything seemed to suddenly start making sense to her. He was the main reason why she had crossed so many countries in such a tiring journey, which, knowing Ienaga Kana as well as she did, Natsumi knew she would have perfectly understood if her will was to have stayed in England with the rest of the household. Also, that day, when Natsumi thought about the sudden loss of contact with Kurotabou over the years, the possibility that he could have forgotten her with the time, the possibility he might not even have been alive when she finally arrived at the Nura household... it was as if nothing of that mattered. She simply wanted to meet him one more time, and, if there was a chance that could happen, even if it was the smallest possible, she wanted to hold onto it firmly. She had nothing to lose, anyways.

It was after realising that one very important thing that she became aware of how she **really** felt.

People always said first loves never lasted, but she didn't believe in that anymore. After seeing him again in such a nostalgic manner, she was more than sure she still loved him the exact same way, for he handn't changed the slightest bits, making her childhood come back to her all over again. Every and each one of the feelings she had stored deep within her heart was now flooding inside her mind. Only, this time, they were much more mature, deep and passionate.

And she couldn't think of any better experience.

Blinking a few times, Natsumi seemed to have snapped out of the trance provided by what seemed to be a never-ending admiration she had for the older man before her. Finding her voice, she stammered, "M-Mou... you say I've grown up, but... y-you keep treating me like a kid... calling me 'Ojou-san', patting my head... it feels l-like... you're making fun of me."

Hearing her embarrassed confession, Kurotabou's smile grew the slightest bits, "Please, accept my apologies." He then removed his hand from her head, already missing the nice feeling of her soft hair on his hard skin, but still keeping his face as close to hers as it was before. "In that case, is it okay... to call you 'Natsumi-san'?"

Now blushing harder than she had ever been in her short lifespan, the young girl blinked a lot of times at her all-time savior, as if trying to figure out if she was awake. Hearing her name come out of his mouth made it feel different somehow. It had made her totally forget all the times anyone had ever called her by her first name. To her, that single word now felt brand-new, and she was beginning to see it completely differently. It had always used to sound so simple, so ordinary, so common. But now, she felt the need to cherish it. It wasn't just a name anymore, it wasn't just a word anymore, it wasn't just a couple of kanji anymore. It was something else, something special – at least, to the owner of the name herself.

All of that just because **he** had said it.

That was a sign. A sign that he now felt like he could treat her as intimately as calling her by the first name. That he now acknowledged her as an adult. That he now saw her as a woman. She was now the same as him. So, maybe, just maybe, that could mean she now had a chance to... to...

At the thought, Natsumi almost laughed humorlessly at herself. Her, a poor and silly young maid, having a chance with him, one of the most respected, strong and handsome members of the Nura-gumi? No matter what was her physical age, she really was still a little girl on the inside.

Pathetic.

Trailing off her own thoughts, the brunette figured she had been staring at him for a little too long without saying anything, trying to hold back a smug smile as happiness seemed to never want to leave her heart anymore, regardless of her depressing assumptions. She then decided to avoid his penetrating gaze again by lowering her head as she answered weakly, "Y-Yes."

~o0o~

The evening followed on quite smoothly. After Kana finished with her work, satisfied with herself, still unaware of the many painful mistakes she had made during her stay in Rikuo's room, she bid him good night and went straight to her own place to wait for her meal, leaving the floor for Tsurara to clean as she left. While the aide did her job, Rikuo, knowing that her body was still feeling the effects of the lack of sleep the night before, invited her to have some Sake with him to relax. Since the girl had no problem with alchoolic drinks, just like the young commander, regardless of their young age, she accepted the friendly invitation, yawning all the way to fetch the bottle and cups.

As they drank together by the shouji doors that led to the main garden, right in front of the Nura household's centenary Sakura, with the warm and soothing spring breeze that eveloped them creating a comfortable atmosphere, Tsurara couldn't help but notice how thoughtful her master was, as if something on the back of his mind was bugging him, and he was mentally trying to solve the problem. Wanting to be of some use to him, as always, Tsurara was about to ask what was it that seemed to be bothering him, when a gush of wind blew past them, averting her attention to the Sakura before her. She watched the many shades of pink mix together as the tree branches danced beautifully with sinuous movements within the rhythm of the delighting spring breeze, with the mesmerizing starry sky as their contrasting background. Overwhelmed with the unique sight, Tsurara almost forgot what she was about to do. Snapping out of her trance, she turned around to face her superior, just to find herself hypnotized once again.

He was smiling.

Out of the many unique traits the Nura heads had, like their hairs that fought against gravity and eyes that looked like precious gems, Tsurara was pretty sure that their signature smile was the most priceless of them. Whenever her master smiled fully, she couldn't help but stay motionless in contemplation for a while. It was always different from any ordinary masculine smile, for it was able to show many emotions at the same time, which was a trait that normally only feminine features had, but without looking feminine at all. And, together with the marvelous night sky and the dancing Sakura, it was absolutely **perfect**.

Also... quite a bit familiar.

Lost in her sea of thoughts as she observed the indescribable scene before her shining, admiring eyes, Tsurara totally forgot to be discreet, making it easy for her master to notice her straight stare. When he turned his head to face her, still with that gorgeous smile on his lips, she could feel heat explode in her cheeks, unable to look away.

The two stared at each other for a while, and, before the sapphire-eyed beauty could even see it coming, he was extending his arm in her direction. She was only able to understand what he was going to do when he carefully seized her small round chin with his hand, while his thumb moved towards her face to wipe a single drop of Sake that had stubbornly stayed near the corner of her lips. With a lazy movement, as if he was trying to appreciate the moment, Rikuo slid his finger through her slightly open lips, guiding the little drop until it reached the destination.

At that point, Tsurara had become a statue, and everything around her seemed to be going on slow motion. Suddenly, the Sake had a completely different taste, much better than it usually had, and much better than it **should** have. She watched her commander quickly and a little reluctantly remove his hand from her delicate face, allowing himself to have a taste of what was left of the Sake and her essence on his thumb. And, maybe it was just her, but she could've sworn that, when he did so, his smile grew the slightest bits. Even after that, she kept staring at him ever so intensely, thankful he wasn't looking at her anymore, but back at his favorite tree, the smile never leaving his handsome face.

Soon enough, the wind stopped, and some strands of raven hair disturbed her vision, but she didn't even mind pulling them out of the way. It was then that her notion of time and space seemed to have magically become normal again, and, much to the attendant's relief, the "moment" she and her master had just had then seemed to be gone. Tsurara then became aware of how her eyes hurt from being wide open all that time without a single blink. As she started blinking some times, she also noticed she hadn't been breathing at all ever since she started staring at her master, which she had to secretly relearn how to do as silence eveloped the room.

Things stayed like that for a moment, as if time had frozen, until Rikuo's deep, tenor voice broke the silence the best way possible to the aide's ears – calling her name. "Tsurara."

Finding her voice again, the aide tried her best not to stammer too much as she answered, "Y-Yes?"

"Doesn't this... seem familiar to you?"

"Eh?" she finally found the will to remove the thin strands of hair from her face, "Rikuo-sama... do you have something in mind right now?"

"Well..." he sighed, "I just remembered how this scenery here looks a lot like that evening... when we exchanged Sakazuki."

At that, Tsurara almost wanted to slap herself due to her oblivious little mind. Of course, that was the reason why everything seemed so familiar. That Sake, that smile, even the many falling Sakura petals – everything was just like the night when she swore loyalty to her master as his faithful attendant.

In the world of ancient honor, Sakazuki represented solidarity akin to a blood pledge, linking fellows of different families. Generally, the exchange of Sakazuki was made between sworn siblings, which meant half of a portion of the Sake offered to do the small ceremony was shared, giving equal footing to both parties. However, the Sakazuki the Sandaime and his many servants had shared back then was a 70-30 portion of Sake, a Sakazuki divided only between master and subordinate, as a pledge of loyalty. In short, it was an oath that could only have been sworn with genuine trust.

Tsurara couldn't look any happier about that fact.

Her smile that evening was absolutely radiant as they drank the Sake together. Rikuo, however, seemed to be as serious and centered as always, not saying a word ever since the aide had entered his room when it was her turn to drink with him. But that changed when she took the liberty to make her own vows to him and their newly completed oath. He clearly remembered what she had said, word by word.

"_I will a__cc__ept Rikuo-sama forever, no matter what form you take, standing by your side and prote__c__ting you for all eternity, be__c__ause you're the young treasure of this household, who I had the honor to be entrusted with."_

And, right after that, a warm yet refreshing breeze blew into the room, pretty much like it had happened a while ago in the present time. Together with the wind, a feeling of satisfaction began to flow deep within the Wakagashira as he found himself leaning forward to face his distracted servant, who was absent-mindedly appreciating the view outside. She was only able to take notice of how dangerously close they were when his reply came ever so kindly.

"_I'll be counting on you, Tsurara."_

When she turned around, her reaction was very similar to the one she had in the present days, which was quite a bit pleasant to him. For a while, they simply stood like that, staring straight into each other's eyes as both the smooth wind and the delicate, amazingly scented Sakura petals caressed them gently. To Tsurara, in that little span of time, she had a taste of what it was like to feel like the rest of the world had disappeared for the first time. Although she could see her surroundings clearly, it was like her brain didn't bother registering anything aside from her master's figure, as if everything in her mind resumed itself to the one she was facing, and nothing else mattered anymore.

Only that smile.

Back then, her heart was overloaded with happiness. But now, living almost the same thing years later, her feelings had significantly changed. Of course, because after that evening, everything was different. But, at the present moment, she didn't want to bring the following events of that occasion, since they would always give her sinful thoughts.

No longer with any of the previous things she had brought back to herself in mind, Tsurara remembered how sleepy she was feeling as she began to yawn, setting her cup down. Again, her actions didn't go unnoticed by the white-haired young man, who had been side-glancing at her in silence for a couple of minutes. The moment she closed her watery and tired eyes, he made a simple movement with his big hand on her tiny head, bringing her down to his lap slowly and quietly. When his personally chosen aide took notice of the act of kindness, she tried to protest by getting up and complaining, but he seemed like he wasn't even able to hear her voice while he applied more force down as she tried to raise herself, his ruby eyes elsewhere. Weak and annoyed, the girl finally gave up after a while, and, before they knew it, the silence was back again.

Quietly lying on her improvised pillow, all Tsurara could do was to stare at the fantastic Sakura as her master absent-mindedly began do pet her head, as if wanting to urge her to get some rest. That was understandable, being it he was the reason she hadn't gotten enough yet. As the branches moved back and forth across each other and the light pink little petals flew around freely, more and more remembrances kept making their way through the raven-haired maiden's mind. All of them were about the moments she and her leader had spent together under the Sakura's protectively huge and magnificent form, which she blamed on the fact they were alone together right before it.

There were always these times when Rikuo would take a break from work to stay outside under that three, but behind it, so that no one would see him skipping work to rest. No one, with the obvious exception for the only person who knew all of his hiding places. But, as the loyal servant she was, she kept the secrets with her as they spent some time like that alone together. Most of those times, they would share cha and sweets while leaning against the Sakura's broad trunk, or just lie on either the fresh grass or each other's laps. It was always very peace and blissful. Both dearly missed moments like those. Unfortunately, Rikuo was no longer a child. He didn't have the privilege to skip work anymore, and, even if he did, he wouldn't dare to.

There were also those times on starry nights, when Tsurara knew very well how Rikuo loved to admire the city, sitting on his favorite branch of the Sakura he cherished so much, like he had used to do since he was very little. She was always the one who went there at late hours to make him come down and go to sleep, but he would only obey after some arguments.

Staying on that tree for so much time a night in so many years had allowed his body to catch the sent of the flowers, which, together with his natural muscular sent, formed a mixture that his servant secretly and highly approved, and she was sure his future wife would, too, when she had the opportunity to sense it. And the aide knew Kana hadn't yet had a taste of what his essence was like because it was quite a bit discreet. Tsurara herself wasn't able to sense it well whenever he was nearby. The moments when she was really able to smell him was when she was clinging to him, taking his dirty clothes to be washed or other things like those.

Now remembering the times when she had to make him get out of his pecious tree, Tsurara recalled there was this one time she would never forget, when, in a beautiful winter night, he was obligated by her to come out of his beloved tree earlier than usual because it was extremely cold, which made him quite a bit annoyed. When he was down, his revenge came in form of a snowball, and, soon enough, the two made the garden their battle field as they tried not to wake up the whole mansion by holding their yelps and laughter. They were having indescribably fun moments out there, which, sadly, were ruined when Tsurara let out a sneeze. Suddenly, the little pre-teens' roles seemed to have reverseed, and Rikuo was dragging his aide into the house before she could even say anything against it. On the way, he decided to lend her his haori to keep her warm as fast as possible, not accepting it back, no matter how much she begged him to have it, fearing he would catch a cold. A pat of his warm hand on her wet head was enough to make her complainings cease. Walking to their rooms, Tsurara couldn't help but finally notice something about the piece of clothing she was wearing – it was blue. A dark yet beautiful blue that resembled the indigo shade of her eyes. But that didn't make much sense. He had always worn a red haori, and she was sure his favorite color had been red for a long time. Suddenly curious, she asked about it, but the response she got was so lame she decided to forget the subject.

And, finally, together with the happy flashbacks of childhood, inevitably, came together the night Tsurara had been trying to push away from her mind for ages. As much as she wanted to just concentrate on other days, – unstained, purely innocent childhood times – she really couldn't. And so, every single thing about that fateful moment started to invade her mind – the celebration, the happy chattering, the Hanabi, the Sakura, the loud music. Also, everything about her master that night was coming back to her – his voice, his hands, his eyes of back then... it was all so different and so real in her mind, her skin, and even her eyes as she pictured the scene that had happened just in the spot she was staring at, as if she was living it again. Probably, she was able to remember it all so hatefully well because he himself was right there, the aide clenched her hands into small fists, with her, she pursed her lips, as **always**.

With her sinful thoughts traveling through her disturbed conscience, she almost missed the fact her master had stopped patting her. Quickly seeing he could have taken note of her odd actions, she turned her head up to face him, but what met her was darkness as rough warmth covered her eyes.

"You think too much." He said simply, "Just sleep, idiot."

After that, all he got as response was the feeling of her soft lashes tickling his hand as they closed for good while the aide smiled slightly with a deep blush, knowing he was smiling as well, even though she hadn't seen it.

~o0o~

Tsurara woke up with a start.

When she opened her eyes, she was more than surprised with the fact all she could see was black. The poor aide almost thought she was either blind or having a nightmare for a split second, when two familiar little things made her forget about the previous speculations – the strong sound of heartbeats and an addicting scent she knew all too well. She then understood everything that was happening, as well as she became aware of a pair of strong arms holding her close to a warm and broad body, tightly, as if she would run away at any second, yet gently, as if holding her with any more strength would break her. Regardless of the grip, the blushing young woman tried her best to struggle out of her embarrassing and inappropriate position with the one she respected the most, but when that only made the arms sneak even more around her, she also became aware that her companion was awake as well.

"Ri..." she choked for air as she tried to free herself, her face and neck flushing red as a hot breath reached them, "Rikuo-sama...!"

"Morning." Was the lame reply from the smiling Wakagashira.

"Do... Don't 'morning' me, Wa—hmph!"

"Sssh, easy, easy." Rikuo couldn't help but smirk quite carefreely as he held the chatty girl's mouth. "Do you want the whole house to know you spent the night with me?"

So that was the main reason why he had been urging her to sleep.

"Tha... that's exactly what I was going to ask about!" the ocean-eyed beauty whispered furiously, after removing her master's hand from her face. "You should have woken me up!"

"My bad. I didn't have the heart to do that." He said nonchalantly, "Plus, in a hot spring night like yesterday's, you were exactly what I needed... Yuki Onna." At that, the young man's number one protector was able to blush even more.

"Yuki Onna" – the nickname given to her mother, due to her cold and attractive self, who seemed to never age no matter what, which Tsurara had earned against her will after she assumed her position in the Nura-gumi, since both of them looked pretty much alike (and what didn't make the situation any better was that the servant had a certain afiliation for the cold). It had been really long since someone had called her that, though, for most of her comrades had understandingly stopped doing so by her own request. And, somehow, having heard that coming from her very master felt strange, unique, suggestive. It was able to send chills up her spine, but she succeeded in not shuddering.

"M-Mou, Waka, please, don't play around with me." she cutely pouted, before trying to release herself from the Sandaime's hold, but soon figured she couldn't. Her response was a childish glare, "Wakaaa..."

"Come on... you don't have to leave so early. The Sun isn't even up yet."

"But of course I do!" Tsurara immediately tried to get up once her master had lowered his guard, "It's the perfect time for me to leave without being spotte–" she was soon cut off by the white-haired heir, who pulled her back to his broad and protective chest as he began to hold her even tighter than before. The quick shock had her silent for a little, trying to stable her heartbeats, but it didn't take long for her to try demanding explanations as she called him softly, "W-Waka...?"

"Stay." Was all he could muster. His tone wasn't quite ordering, but it was serious, calm and still. The personal servant, however, was able to catch many other hints in his voice. He sounded hurt, pleading, and maybe even a little desperate, pretty much like how he had looked at her back when she left his room the afternoon before. She knew how much he wanted to keep her close to him – in fact, she really did want to stay, but, for the sake of both her and her master, she would dare to turn him down.

For the very first time.

"N... No." At her simple, plain and cruel answer, Rikuo couldn't help but widen his eyes. When was it that she had said that word to him for the last time? Oh, yes.

Never.

Hearing her push her limits as his head aide was enough to make him understand how she was feeling, so he slowly let her go, and, as she sat up on the futon, he just laid there, gazing at pure nothingness. Exaggeratedly guilty, Tsurara tried to at least offer her superior some comfort before leaving, but dismissed the idea when she concluded he could change his mind and pull her back yet again. Moreover, it could only leave him longing for more. Ready to leave, she gave one last sigh before turning around, freezing as she found something that brought back some of the memories she had been reliving the night before.

Rikuo's blue haori.

When the Sandaime noticed how she had suddenly stopped to stare at the clothing that was lying on his overs, his smirk became devilish. "Don't worry. You can dig your nose into that as much as you want that I won't mind." He then watched with amusement as her shoulders went up and her cheeks reddened again.

She turned around to meet his unusually playful face as she suffocated a yell with whispering, "I-I-I wans't thinking of doing anything of that sort! Stop playing around like that with me, Rikuo-sama!"

"I'm just kidding." The ruby-eyed young man had to hold back a soft laugh at his attendant's funny expression, regardless of his aching chest. Her blushing face was always priceless. "But you seemed pretty thoughtful there. What's the matter?"

"I was just... remembering that day when Rikuo-sama changed the color of the haori." she began, her blush fainting slowly as a small smile made its way to her lips, which Rikuo couldn't see, since she had turned her back to him as she resumed staring at his cloth. "It was a bit surprising that Rikuo-sama's favorite color changed so fast. I don't really get why Waka suddenly took a liking of blue, but you've always asked to make it this color whenever a bigger size was needed."

For a couple of seemingly everlasting seconds, the two just stood there quietly. Tsurara kept her stare at the haori, her master's one cutting through her back like a blade, until she finally understood how awkward the atmosphere around them had become with her little comment while she was immersed in memories for a moment. It was then that she felt the need to break the ice, or else, she probably wouldn't be able to look at Rikuo face-to-face for the rest of the day. "I-I'm sorry, Waka. I ended up spacing out. I'm going to leave now, so, you can just forget what I just sai–" the aide was never able to finish her statement. Before she knew it, she was seeing just plain black again. She could feel something curvy and long against her forehead, which she assumed that was one of the Soudaishou-to-be's large shoulders. Her heart fluttered when she felt the hand that had pulled her closer tighten around her as a thick breath tickled her ear.

"Do you want to know, Tsurara?"

The sapphire-eyed beauty blinked a few times. Her blush, which was going away earlier, now was back with disturbing heat yet again. That vicious blushing process usually happened when she was around her master and it never failed to have her utterly annoyed with herself. "Eh?"

"Do you want to know why my favorite color changed?" he clarified, gently tugging some strands of hair behind the aide's small ear. It was then that a realization hit her.

"_But what use would a sapphire pendant have when I've already had a pair of them with me my whole life?"_

She was so stupid. How come she wasn't able to put the pieces together earlier? Not wanting to ever hear the end of it, she chose not to answer, expecting him to let her go, but the fact was that he wasn't really waiting for her reply.

"That was because... blue is the color that fits you the most, and you're the one that fits me the most."

And that was it. Holding her breath for a moment, the Nura head's most trusted servant tried to suffocate her feelings within her chest, her face now literally **burning**. Much to her disappointment, her instable heart didn't allow her to stay like that for as long as she needed, which ended up almost making her choke, but she was able to hold it back.

Her master seemed to be just as hopeless as she was, not wanting to look directly at her no matter what, but still attempting to continue his speech. "Tsurara... I..." he whispered into her ear, attempting to make his thoughts and emotions reach her. But she couldn't allow the foolish part of her to give him the chance. As much as she hated to seem like a coward, she had no choice but to run away this time, not for her own sake, but for his.

His and his future wife's.

Rikuo felt nearly all of his movements unwittingly stop all together while he found himself concentrating on a single point of his body as coldness reached his lips gently. He took that as a sign that he shouldn't go on any further, for his companion didn't seem to be able to take any more. Wanting to make sure he hadn't hurt her vulnerable-looking self, he tried his best to look at her in the eyes, but all he was able to see were her inky bangs and her adorably rosy face. Well, it wasn't like red didn't look good on her, too.

After one more moment of silence, he finally spoke, "I'm sorry."

She just shook her head a little, as if trying to tell him he had nothing to apologize for, since her voice simply wouldn't come out.

He felt himself smile a little against her slender fingers, knowing very well what she was trying to do. Ever since **that** happened, she had been doing her best to keep herself as close to him as she had always been without letting things become awkward between them. But yet, whenever Kana was around, she would try to keep a little distance, as if to give the heiress some space to become closer to her master and be able to approach him, even though she didn't want to let that happen.

Tsurara was strong.

Sometimes, she was even stronger than her master himself, who she had and still always looked up to. And he knew that very well because, if it was him in her place, he would never be able to put a front against her, even with it being for her own sake.

When she left his room, she gave him the suggestion of trying to go back to sleep before sliding his shouji shut. He thought he wouldn't be able to do so that easily, but figured out he actually would as he caught his aide's addicting scent mixed with his own in his covers. He drifted off to sleep much sooner than he had thought, unaware of Tsurara's protective eyes watching him from his discreetly open door, only leaving for good to her empty place when she was sure he was getting some well-deserved rest.

On the way to the comfort of her spacious room, which she used to share with a friend, she noticed how there wasn't anyone around, taking that as a sign she would be able to sleep a little more too. It would help clean her mind, so she thought it would be a good idea, although if she was in her usual mood, she would just begin working as soon as possible. Throwing herself into her beloved futon, she squeezed her eyes shut and covered her body with her thick blankets.

Rikuo had been trying hard, she knew that. He hadn't complained when he was told to spend more time with his fiancée, but did his part trying to make her feel happy and home again. When that failed, he did his best to fix everything as if it was made of broken glass, putting piece to piece back in place. Finally, he had also given Kana a chance to see for herself how his so trusted servant's work was, since it would soon become hers.

All of that against his will.

Oikawa Tsurara had never been one to hate, but this time, she couldn't help it. She hated seeing her master hurt because of her. She hated having to avoid him, even though it was for his well-being and no one else's. Although she could bear handing him to someone else, who she trusted well to look after him, she hated having to see the disapproval and the loneliness in his eyes whenever she did so. But, on top of all of that, she hated never being able to stop him whenever he told her that one simple phrase that had been haunting her for a whole year.

"Tsurara... I... I love you." His deep voice whispered smoothly through her ear, making one of her tiny hands fly up to ease the warmth the memory had caused to form as her blood started to rush up to her face one more time.

She had failed to cover his mouth in time yet again that day, recordings of the past times he had succeeded to send her the message half of her didn't want to receive running through her head and making it impossible for her to concentrate on her sleep, her face getting hotter and hotter as the minutes went by. Aside from his own voice, he had used images, scribings and gestures. In each trial, he seemed to be able to pull her closer and closer to him, but she had always gotten back to her respectful and eternal place as his servant successfully. Still, she wondered for how much time she would be able to go on with that. Even because, although she was holding onto her hopes really tightly, she was still a mere human who didn't know for how long she could trust herself.

Sometimes, she couldn't help but mentally picture how things would be much easier if Ienaga Kana didn't exist.

~o0o~

TAN-TAN-TAN-TAAAAAN! Some revelations for you guys! I know, I know, this chappie was very dramatic and confusing, and I'm already hating myself quite a lot for it, but, besides that, how about you guys try guessing what happened the year before the timeline this story was set in? Let's see if you'll guess correctly. I think it's a pretty obvious thing, though. That aside, why is it that I feel this chapter has been only shipping tease and nothing else? Oh, yeah! Because it was! I'm so sorry I couldn't give you guys a more consistent chappie! It ended up being lots of pages of pointless bullshit, as always...

And, **woah**, I feel like the hatred for Kana in you has been getting bigger and bigger as I update... but let me swear you this: if everything goes as I've been planning until the end, YOU'LL BE LOVING KANA BY THE LAST CHAPTERS OF THIS STORY! YOU READ ME?! L-O-V-I-N-G. And you'll see how. It's a surprise, obviously. You're free to try guessing, though, so I'll be able to see if what I'm planning to do is something obvious or not.

Also, much like last chapter's author note, I have some stuff to clarify:

1) I chose 14-15 as the age of the main cast because I wanted to make this a more mature story, so I needed them to be older than they are in the original story. Also, in ancient times in Japan, and other parts of the world, marriages were done pretty early. Especially arranged ones. But... maybe I should change to 15-16? You guys decide! X3

2) Everyone is in human form here, except for Rikuo, and I believe the reasons are obvious – I needed the sexy and bold Rikuo, not the gentle and kawaii one. But I've kept the traditional outfits, because, well, this is set in old times. XP

3) Yes, I mixed Tsurara's speech with Kubinashi's. I just thought they could complete each other pretty well.

4) I feel like I've kinda described Kana and Tsurara as little perverts in this chapter... and that I've been glorifying Rikuo a lot.

5) RIKUO IS STILL GODDAMN OOC, BUT. I. WILL. EXPLAIN. WHY. You'll see.

6) This must be the biggest thing I've ever wrote. It's my first time ever passing 10,000 words. GAH, SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REVIEW AND ALL?! TTATT

So, for the first chapter, for some reason, I received a fair amount of anonymous reviews, much more than for the prologue, so I decided I had to reply to them (Jaeda Star-san, you don't count, okay? XD).

Guest (1): Thank you very much, but my story isn't really "incredible" at all, hehe.

It's really hard to find a NuraMago fan that doesn't love RikuTsura. I think 80% of the fans support those two! Isn't that great?!

Thanks again. Your appreciation is appreciated! It's relieving for me it's not that OoC and easy to picture to you. I've been working hard on this!

Guest (2): Yeah!

Guest (3): Awn, and I loved your review. I'll try to update ASAP.

Guest (4): Thanks a lot! It's really awesome how the readers pay attention to the details!

Ahaha, yeah. Well, it's not like RikuTsura has small fanbase (it obviously **doesn't**), it's just that I haven't thought there would be so many people reading NuraMago fics, because, well, there are barely +400 stories here... so, yeah. I guess there really was people like me here – itching to find a good RikuTsura story.

That's right, NuraMago deserves more love! TTATT

Absolutely right. I don't think anyone else actually **deserves** Rikuo.

I did have fun. Lots of it!

Guest (5): Aaah~! Thank you!

Oh, my, you read the Omake too, didn't you? But this isn't the original NuraMago story, so Rikuo's human form's age isn't the reference here. Well, your points have been clarified above. Thank you again.

Guest (6): I. KNOW. **RIGHT**?! Shiibashi-sensei is capable of being even shippier than Kishimoto Masashi or Kubo Tite! I think he only doesn't lose to Takahashi Rumiko when it comes to Shounen romance.

Woah, I'm glad I was able to make you push your limits, even if it's not in a very productive way, hehe. But, is it really **that** OoC to you?

Nah, don't worry about the updates. For some reason, I feel more motivated to write this story than any of my others. Must be because my love for this pairing is bigger...

Thank you. Haha, they're just too kawaii together not to ship, right? I simply **cannot** understand why or how there are people that strongly hate them as a pairing!

I'm just showing what Shiibashi-sensei already does about Kana – uselessness. But I do have more use for her... in the end. Muahahahaha!

Don't worry, I'm better and enjoyed it a lot!

Guest (7): Hehe, thank you! I'm so happy to know that!

Oh, my, thanks again. But it's really not my intention to push all the misery onto Kana. I just need this for her character to grow within this plot.

Thank you one more time, haha. I'm very satisfied you noted that! And I'll update ASAP!

Guest (8): Ahaha, wow, that's so flattering! I think that too.

Yeah, I've been trying my best to portrait everyone correctly. And, I'm sure any RikuTsura fan would perfectly stand reading Kana's parts in my story, since she's always so miserable. But. This. Shall. Change. Later!

I also think that. Kana's not that innocent at all. During the original NuraMago story, she really did show a lot of signs of jealousy towards Tsurara's relationship with Rikuo, like spying on them, grimacing at every sight of them together, and even burning to ashes while observing Tsurara cling to him. I wanted to use that a little more to help develop her character faster.

Lol, steal my brain? Y'know, you're not the first person to tell me that, as creepy as this is...

I'll try to update soon!

Guest (9): That's a s-e-r-c-e-t. Muhahahaha!

"Rikuo and Kana being lovey-dovey"?! *Shivers as well* I'm just **not** able to picture that in any way possible.

Yep, I'll continue it 'til the very end!

Hi: Well, I'm happy that you're happy! ;3


	4. Festivity

"Waaah~! Ienaga-kun, it's been so long!" an enthusiastic brunet greeted, holding the hand of the young woman in front of him as soon as she caught his eye while making his entrance in the Nura household for the first time in a really long period. "You've grown into such a beautiful Ojou-san! I take it you have been doing pretty fine, then?" he then politely planted a discreet kiss on said Ojou-san's hand. "By the way, where is the lucky groom?"

"Hum... Kiyotsugu-kun..." Kana shyly called from the shouji doors behind the guest, "I'm right here."

"Are?" the young noble turned around to face the embarrassed heiress, now finally taking in the **real** features of the girl in his memories, which were obviously not a match to the ones of the young woman whose hand he had in his. "Ah! But of course!" he laughed nervously, making Kana suddenly feel the need to face-palm.

Kiyotsugu was unimpressively just as oblivious as always, enough to mistake his old friend for one of her maids, who he had approached as soon as she had entered the room prepared to welcome the special guests of the day with a tray of warm kamairicha in hands. But, leaving his attitude aside, he did grow up quite a bit ever since last time they had met. His rather skinny structure had become tall and quite manly – he was even able to acquire some muscles with time. His wavy hair, which used to be short and messy, was now longer than the heiress's, held in a rather feminine-looking high ponytail, his bangs framing his face as they parted from the middle of his forehead. His facial features, which used to be childish and playful, were now mature and more masculine, but still had hints of his dorky persona in them – one of those being his signature smile.

"E-Excuse you." The blonde maid muttered as she was able to get her hand freed from Kiyotsugu's hold, her cheeks bright red from the previous comment regarding "her" beauty as she took her leave after setting the cha on the table.

"Well," Kana politely cleared her throat and took a seat near the round table in the center of the room, ready to start a conversation, "how have you been, Kiyotsugu-kun?"

"Wonderful, Ienaga-kun, and I see you have been just as good, too. You look amazing~" At the comment, the hazel-haired girl couldn't help but blush a little. She indeed did look really cute in her white kimono (the first one she was wearing ever since she left Japan), stamped with beautiful pink flowers and tied with a light pink obi. Her make-up was very light, only meant to complement her graceful face, and her hair overall very simple, with only a pink flower-shaped ornament holding a small braid that stood on the left side of her head.

Too bad her innermost appearance didn't seem to match the outermost one, being it that she had been trying for a while to think of ways of keeping her future husband away from his oh-so-trusted head aide while they spent the evening at the Kokehime Jinja, since the sky blue-eyed beauty had insisted to accompany them that time, due to the fiasco of some days before, which no one outside the gates of the Nura house was aware of, thanks to a kind request made to the workers of Bakenekoya not to spread any rumors around the city. Although Kana could very well understand Tsurara's concern, and was somewhat thankful for it, it was highly doubtful the Wakagashira would have another serious accident, and Kana could handle helping him move around just fine, since he was recovering surprisingly (or rather "inhumanly") quick enough to stand, even with his serious injuries still only halfway gone. Kana knew what she wanted to do was quite a bit mischievous, being it the servant was extremely dedicated to take good care of her dear master, but, she couldn't afford to give Tsurara a chance to have fun together with him in her presence.

Or else, the pain she was feeling now would be duplicated.

"W-Well..." the brunette began hesitantly, ready to confirm Kiyotsugu's assumption, but was prevented from having to lie to one of her childhood friends about her current state by Saori's wavering voice as she announced another visitor.

"Kana-sama, Shima Jirou-sama is here." The blonde said, opening the shouji doors a little more so the spiky-haired young man could come in, and taking her leave right after, not daring to spare the other male a single look.

Kana examined her other friend carefully, but soon found out there was nothing very interesting about him, for he hadn't changed at all (aside from his height, of course). His spiky blonde head, his sharp black eyes, his thin and weak structure, and even his stupid smile – it was all the same old Shima-kun. But Kana didn't know if that was good or bad.

"Shima-kun!" Kiyotsugu immediately grabbed the blond's shoulders in a friendly gesture, pulling him into a man hug. "It's been a while!"

"I-It's nice to see you again, Kiyotsugu-kun." Jirou laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of his neck. In fact, the poor boy seemed to be feeling rather uneasy to be back at the famous Nura mansion after so long, and with friends he used to act around with so intimately, but that time and space limited to count with only ink and paper to keep their bonds, which had weakened ever since they were separated.

But that shy and introvert young man seemed to suddenly feel rather at home when he first heard a familiar voice that now sounded much smoother and feminine than he remembered. "Welcome back, Shima-kun."

Tilting his head to the side to peep over Kiyotsugu's shoulder, Jirou felt heat over his cheeks once he laid his big narrow eyes on the figure of a smiling brunette, sitting by the tea table with her hands neatly folded on her lap. "I-I-Ienaga-san?!"

"Good evening." She bowed her head slightly, rising to her feet. "How have you been?"

"I-I have been j-just fine, thank you." He stuttered lamely, not blinking, a drop of sweat breaking through his sunflower locks. Struggling out of his old pal's embrace, he found himself fighting the need to tell the young woman in front of him how delightfully enchanting she looked now, and how she had grown into a very classy Ojou-san, for it would have most likely embarrassed him to no end, not to mention it could have given her the creeps, since she was now about to get married. Thinking of which, where was the main host of the evening, who she was supposed to be united with, again? "B-By the way, Ienaga-san... where's–"

"DO AS YOU'RE TOLD" a high-pitched feminine voice echoed loudly through the halls of the house, interrupting the blond and catching the attention of the guests and the hostess, who now wanted to face-palm yet again. "OR ELSE, I'LL SMOTHER YOU IN BANDAGES!"

"Geez, fine, fine!" came the irritated response, "Ow, ow! No, not there!"

"Just... stop jerking around so much, okay?! You shouldn't even be moving like that!" was the reprehension. "I know it hurts, but I promise it'll be quick if you just stay put and let me finish this at once!"

"Alright, alright, but be gentle."

"That's what I'm trying to do!" a heavy, loud sigh, "Now, let me take this off!"

When the yelling stopped, the two guests turned around to look at their blushing friend with wide eyes as she kept mentally cursing her subordinate and husband-to-be for the embarrassment she had just caused while preparing herself to give a decent explanation for their momentarily lack of manners, her smile slightly faltering. But, when she was about to speak, a voice coming from the shouji doors stopped her in mid-way, leaving her open-mouthed.

"Geez, you Nura are just as obnoxious as always." A brunette in a light blue kimono sighed, leaning against the doorframe with her arms half-crossed, one of her hands massaging her aching right temple. Beside her was a sweat-dropping Saori, who, now knowing she had missed the chance to announce the last guest, took her leave.

"Yu..." Kana sputtered, a bright smile approaching her lips as she was soon able to forget about the earlier nuisance. "Yura-chan?!"

"Uooh...! K-Keikain-san?" Jirou almost exclaimed, his face growing slightly hotter at the thought of how time had flown so incredibly fast.

Out of the old acquaintances in that room, Keikain Yura was definitely the one that had changed the most. In their small group, she used to be one of the shortest kids, only not losing to Kana in height, but now, she was just as tall as Jirou and Tsurara. Her hair, which used to not even reach her shoulders now stayed smoothly past her hips, with a part of it tied neatly behind her head. Her body, which was awfully thin and tiny before, had grown to be rather curvy, though her bust was still in need of development. In resume, that little girl, who used to be nearly as tomboyish and carefree as the guys she played with, was now as feminine and lady-like as her social status required her to, her beauty now finally able to equal her former best friend's. However, regardless of how much she had changed on the outside, Kana was sure her personality was still the same as always, for she was just as apathetic as before, which didn't really mean she wasn't happy with the nostalgic reunion, since she was smiling a little as the three approached her (besides, if she hadn't wanted, she wouldn't have even bothered to come). But that discreet smile soon faded when the Onmyouji seemed to **sense** someone coming through the halls, turning on her heel to face the closed shouji doors seconds before they were slid open.

And then, silence filled the room.

A white and black-haired man stood by the entrance of the room, one of his hands holding a wooden cane (which was secretly being used for him to support himself as he pretended to be able to walk normally, despite his injuries) while his other arm lay folded inside his flower-stamped yellow yukata. A crimson haori with many beautiful images on its back – mostly colorful willow branches and white sagi – was hanging almost loosely onto his broad shoulders. Burgundy orbs scanned the place while the other youngsters merely stared, their owner almost letting a satisfied smile approach his lips as he could perfectly see how his old mates had changed quite a bit, but at the same time, had changed nothing at all.

They all stayed like that for a moment, until an annoyed Yura decided to break the uncomfortable atmosphere, "Long time no see, Nura-kun."

Blinking twice, the Wakagashira averted his attention from the other three people in the room to look down at an indifferent-looking brunette, who he had not noticed to be right before him. Arching a brow, it took him a few seconds to recognize the girl, and then a small smile formed on his lips as he gave himself the liberty to pat her head, "Yeah. By the way, it's nice to see you guys again."

A vein popped on the Keikain heiress's cheek as she blandly slapped his hand away with a glare, "Don't treat me so familiarly, Youkai."

Yup, definitely the same.

"Hmph." He chuckled, "As usual, you're so Tsun-Tsun towards me, Yur–" The Sandaime was soon interrupted by an elbow harshly connecting with his injured six-pack abs, pain exploding through his whole body as he let out a pained, "Ugh!"

Unaware of his now reopened wounds, Yura threw a strand of her almost black brown hair to the side as she continued to glare his aching form, "Don't address me so familiarly, either!"

"Oi, Onmyouji girl!" came a feminine voice from behind Rikuo's rather vulnerable figure, which Jirou and Kiyotsugu recognized as the one who had been shouting earlier with him, "Be more careful! Waka is hurt!"

At the statement, three of the people in the room had different reactions, while the other two stayed completely oblivious about it – Yura's eyes widened slightly in realization, Kana's heart skipped a beat, and Rikuo quickly tried to recompose himself, regardless of his pain. Shooting a glace behind him, he sighed – his aide really did have a loose little mouth some times, but he knew she had opened it without thinking this one.

"About time you joined us, Tsurara." He said as he made way for her to enter the room. The moment she did so, the room was silent yet again.

Obviously embarrassed about becoming the center of all the attentions, she opted for giving the staring nobles a bow and a greeting, trying to stay controlled and polite, not letting her slight blush show. Soon enough, the childhood companions seemed to have forgotten her previous sentences regarding her superior and the early (suggestive) shouting as they came up to her, Jirou's face now hotter than ever as he kept stuttering and absent-mindedly staring up and down at her, which didn't go unnoticed by anyone, especially the host, who, feeling a bit left out, called everyone to sit down and have some tea as they talked.

When they did, all the awkwardness seemed to be **at last** gone.

While the group had fun sharing memories of their moments together, Kana was deeply regretting not having dressed up better for the evening, because, even though all the aide was wearing was a black kimono stamped with white and pink flowers, tied with a white and pink-stamped obi, and her usual scarf, which was a get-up just as simple as the Ienaga heiress's, the feeling she once had of being the most beautiful female in the room was now gone. Instead, she was now starting to understand how her mother must have felt the day she and her family first came to visit the Nura house, when Setsura had been the first to welcome them in.

It was as if the two girls were now replaying their mothers' roles.

After all, Tsurara never needed to wear anything flashy or expensive like the arranged wife did, since her natural beauty was able to make everything she wore not only look good on her, but also look like it was worth much more than its actual price, just like Setsura did. Kana had never stopped to think about that before, always trying not to pay much attention to the snow white girl, for she would only feel down whenever she found good points on her undeclared love rival. But, now that she did think about it, before she even knew it, she couldn't draw her eyes away from the raven-haired bodyguard any longer, analyzing her quietly as she tried to fool the others with a fake smile, so that they wouldn't notice she was not only not paying attention to them, but was the only one not having the good time she had been expecting.

Now examining Tsurara with more careful and understanding eyes, not the cautious and disdainful ones she usually had when setting them upon her, she could finally find many details she hadn't ever been aware of, like how the azure-eyed girl's beauty opposed her own mother's just like before, even though, at the same time, she kept becoming more and more like her. The servant's traditional looks, instead of being cold and seductive like Setsura's, were actually quite warm and innocent, though she did have the guts to literally freeze anyone with a glare if she wanted and become as harsh as shattered glass if she needed. Her huge and glassy sapphire pools were always very radiant and peaceful, which were framed by perfectly curled, long pitch-black lashes, and occupied a big part of her delicate round face, the rest being only her puffy cheeks, flawless little nose and small rosy lips. Her straight and long inky hair complemented her features well and was a good contrast to her soft, hairless alabaster skin. Her petite and slender yet tough and strong body emanated cheerfulness, loyalty and purity in all ways possible. In resume, she was just like a life-size Japanese doll, a perfect example of a real Yamato Nadeshiko, which was also the contrary of Kana's sweetly classic European looks. And, just like their appearances, their personalities were pretty much unlike each other's.

And the heiress uncertainly wondered which Rikuo would prefer.

Come to think of it, his beauty and personality were the opposites of the two girls' as well. Especially of Tsurara's. His appearance was unlike any other, which was able to bear many emotions that, most of the time, stayed hidden within the stoic and focused mask he wore every day. His sharp and shiny ruby eyes were always serious and still, able to take a lot more space than usual in his narrowed face when fully opened, the rest being his rather unmanly perfect nose and thick lips. His spiky and long gravity-fighting, snow white hair was probably his weirdest trait, but it did fit him to the point of being impossible to imagine him with any other hairdo. His well-muscled and tall body was the definition of power and leadership to anyone who ever set their eyes upon him. In other words, Yura had many points when nicknaming him "Youkai".

Still, as much as master and aide were the contraries of each other in so many ways, they did have lots of things in common, too. Both were almost equally good-hearted and willed, hardworking, intelligent, strong and charismatic – an amazing team that could work together quite smoothly, despite all their differences. It was as if they were the two pieces of a puzzle that, for having different formats, completed each other. As if they were two magnets that, for having different poles, were attracted to each other. As if they were the same as light and darkness or fire and ice – one could simply not exist without the other, exactly because they were opposites.

As if they were... a perfect match.

With her jaw tightening, Kana finally found the will to look away, her smile almost disappearing due to her gritted teeth. What was she? Masochist? Why was it that every single time that her thoughts drifted to either Rikuo or Tsurara, they would become depressing and painful, as if she was subconsciously trying to hurt herself? For how long would she continue to find proofs that she wasn't the one really worthy of **her** **own** man? When would her heart stop ripping itself to shreds when she had to pretend everything was completely fine? It had not even been a week, and the amount of tears she had already shed could probably fill an entire cup of tea, like the one she had in hands now.

She really hadn't been feeling the same at all ever since she came back to the Nura house. Sometimes, an overwhelming happiness would take over her, only to be destroyed to pieces right after. Of course, she had trained herself to deal with all of the obstacles she would have to overcome in her engagement as she grew up, with the very useful help of her mother, but still… she never knew it would have been so hard not to think about giving everything up. Of course, she could never do such a thing. Everything she ever dreamt for the rest of her life to be lied within her marriage. But the way things would always end up turning against her was starting to make her feel really sick of herself. For that reason, she thought she desperately needed a distraction. And the Hatsumoude seemed to be a good idea for that. After all, being able to enjoy the evening with her old friends and arranged spouse seemed wonderful. There was only one thing that could make it perfect.

A way to keep a certain girl apart for the largest amount of time she could.

~o0o~

"Kuro~!" a familiar, gentle feminine voice called friendly from the other side of the shouji. "Open up, please~!"

Attending his comrade's request, Kurotabou opened his room's door, letting the attractive brunette outside pass by him with a tray of food in hands, allowing herself to sit on the tatami as she set everything down.

"Thank you, Kejourou." He said politely.

"No big deal." She smiled dismissively, "By the way, may I know why you didn't want to come out of your room the whole day?"

The Souhei could clearly see the curiosity in his friend's emerald eyes as she stared at him with an arched brow, obviously discarding the possibility of him being unable to go outside, for he looked perfectly fine, except for a hint of a rosy stain on his cheeks, which he tried to hide with his long raven hair, but failed to fool the perceptive woman.

"H-Hey, what's that on your face?" she asked, leaning a little close to him as he sat a few steps beside her. Not liking the lack of space between him and the wavy-haired woman, he tried to escape from her observant form by asking her to retire, but she was quicker than him, grabbing his jawline and lifting it rather painfully, due to her long nails, to take a good look at his unusually pink face. "Do you have a fever, Kuro? You're all..." she interrupted herself and stared a few more seconds at his not sick, but **embarrassed**-looking face, blinking once, twice, and then, finally...

She understood everything.

"Oh. My. Gosh." Kejourou's voice came out like a barely audible whisper as her delicate hands gripped the assault officer's jaw slightly tighter, a foxy smirk making its way to her lips. "Kuro... you're blushing!" she giggled lowly, so that no outsiders would hear her.

Unable to deny it, Kurotabou simply stayed quiet as he tried to look away again, praying she wouldn't find out the why he seemed to be so "not himself". But since the person in question was Kino Kejourou, that would be quite a bit impossible. After all, the reason of him being in that state was an acquaintance of hers. And said acquaintance, much to his lack of luck, seemed to be acting quite strangely all day, just like him, which was something that didn't go unnoticed by the dark-brown haired woman, which would most likely make it easy for her to put two and two together.

"Don't tell me..." her smirk grew a little, as well as her voice, "that you're like this because of a woma–"

"Ssshh!" the onyx-eyed man covered Kejourou's "big" mouth quickly, mentally cursing for the prayers that weren't heard.

"Aha, no. No, no, no. I just can't believe this!" once she was free from his hold, the ponytailed woman covered her huge grin with both hands as she tried to suppress her laughter. "You're one of the most popular officers of the Nura Gumi, Kuro! Have you ever counted how many women you have by your feet, or have you ever noticed how you've never bothered sparring them a single look? You have to tell me who this girl is, or else...!"

"Guh...!" taken aback by the slender woman's sudden excessive interest, and not knowing whatever she would be capable of doing if he didn't satisfy her with a good answer, but still aware she would certainly be up to no good, he tried one last escape route with the more-than-predicable "no one that you would know" lie, but that failed when she insisted anyways, claiming she wouldn't be able to confirm if she **really** didn't know the woman if she wasn't told her name. He then tried to make up a random name in his head, but nothing would come to him. In fact, he hadn't been able to think straight all day. There was only one thing occupying – no, rather "invading" – his mind all the time: one very adorable little face that had been haunting him like a ghost, just like he had unknowingly been doing with its owner for many years. Not that he was feeling bad about feeling weird in any way (which only made him feel **weirder**), but still, being unable to organize his own head made him feel like he didn't know himself anymore, almost sending him into an identity crisis. He had always been so in plain control of his body and mind, just as he had been trained to, that it was more than expected he would be frustrated with someone messing up with his many **years** of hard work in a single afternoon – especially when this "someone" was a mere fifteen-year-old girl.

Finally, he gave up.

"Well...?" the huge-breasted brunette urged.

He looked down, feeling more embarrassed than ever. At least Kejourou was a good friend. He was pretty sure that, once she learned the truth, she would keep it as a secret if he asked her to. Besides, as much as it deeply hurt his pride to admit it, he was in desperate need of help, and, being a woman, she would probably be all he needed. But first, he would have to explain his situation. Plus, he didn't know whatever he could do with the innocent female that was making his sanity slowly fade away, but, considering what he had done with her after seeing her only twice in one day, he didn't trust himself in her company for a single second anymore.

Long story short, he was nearly going crazy.

Letting out a deep sigh of defeat, Kurotabou's face grew slightly hotter as he gave his friend a weak, "Fine, I'll tell you. But you'd better not spread anything around."

"Hmph, how rude. I'm not asking about that so I can go on gossiping all over the house." Kejourou glared him curtly before her face began to soften into a sad smile. "I just want to know because... you haven't seemed very happy lately, Kuro."

"Huh?" he raised a brow at her, grabbing a bowl of gohan after parting his hashi.

"Oh, come now, you know what I mean. It's already been a while you've been acting a little differently. You stopped smiling within the years. Everybody keeps saying that when they look at you, you seem like a lifeless puppet wandering around. And I agree. You had grown pale and your eyes didn't have any signs of happiness in them."

Hearing the opinion of his observant comrade, Kurotabou could do nothing but stare at the empty space while indifferently chewing his food, not saying anything to prove her wrong, when, in fact, he also agreed with everything she had pointed out. He hated to admit it, but, for a while, his life had been feeling rather unsightly. His work was all that he did and nothing else. Of course, as a man, he had the right to have fun in his free time, but the fact was that he didn't have much to do that he could call "fun". Every time he went out, it was to either go drink or to patrol around, and, at first, he enjoyed doing those things quite a bit (except that, most of the times, there would be women on his way), but they obviously had become too uneventful and boring with time. Much to his relief, the Sandaime was born, and his carefree and playful personality was able to bring more happiness to the Nura household and the Souhei's routine. However, of course the child wouldn't always stay a child. As the Wakagashira grew up, he earned more responsibilities, and, with the Nidaime's death, he was overloaded with the weight of leadership. With the loss of the cherished master and the lack of time said man's little boy had to actually **be** a boy, Kurotabou thought that his daily affairs were back to becoming annoying and that, if it wasn't his commitment with the Nura-gumi, he would have nothing to make him want to continue living.

Until a certain maid came back.

Snapping out of his thoughts as he felt his cheeks heating up slightly again, he turned his head to face his friend, who had suddenly stopped talking when she still seemed to have more to say. But, much to his shock, what he found was a man staring back at him. Said man resembled him a lot, yet he looked younger. His raven hair was shining rather neatly against the orange lights of sunset, his eyes were gleaming full of life and his cheeks were bright with a reddish little stain on them. And then, it hit him – as his field of vision started to register the rest of his surroundings, not only the man he had instantly locked eyes with, he was finally able to understand how Kejourou had noticed the change in him so quickly. The fact was that anyone would have noticed it just by looking at him, even not being as sharp-eyed as the brunette servant.

After all, even **he** didn't recognize himself in the mirror anymore.

"You see~?" his companion giggled, downing the little mirror she was holding so that he would be able to see her mischievous grin. "Now, Kuro, can you just spit it out? I want to know who we owe that to. I mean, it sure has been a while I've seen you smiling – it was probably the day Rikuo-sama caught you in one of his home-made traps for the last time – but, scratch that! You may not be smiling, but you're **blushing**! That's even rarer! I haven't seen your face get red without you being drunk for… what, eight... ten years? I think it was back when you brought that little girl here. Do you remembe...?" slowly, she fell silent, watching as the man in black clothing flinched at the mentioning of the "little girl", his face growing fairly hotter. Awkward silence followed for a few seconds, Kejourou simply staring at the Souhei, who tried to ignore her actions as he resumed eating rapidly to reduce his blush as he chewed, until what he had feared that would happen happened. "P-Pfft..."

And so, the loud woman obnoxiously exploded into laughter as the Sun finally disappeared into the horizon.

He had tried. Tried hard. He really did everything he could to control himself. But, lately, it seemed that the word "control" wasn't being part of his vocabulary. After almost three minutes trying to endure Kejourou's bubbly laughter and playful comments about him, Kurotabou almost erupted into a furious shout, but was thankfully held back by the attractive woman, who had finally managed to calm her excitement and muffle her laughs with her hands.

"I-I'm sorry..." She managed to say after she had calmed down, making the no-longer-pale-as-paper man frown at how her face clearly showed she wasn't sorry at all.

"Well, if you're done making fun of me, I would appreciate quite a bit if you kindly told me what it that you found so humorous was." the Souhei requested with obvious irritation and fake politeness.

"It's not like I found anything humorous." Kejourou giggled, and when all that she earned was a sarcastically arched brow, she decided to be more specific, "I mean, maybe it could have looked like I was making fun of you just now, but... I swear I wasn't."

"Then, why were you...?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm happy!" the emerald-eyed female gracefully dried a tear that had stuck in her long brown lashes. "I'm very happy for you, Kuro. I never thought this day would ever come, really. Nor did I think it would be that little girl of all people that would cause this to happen."

"What... are you talking about...?" the puzzled monk didn't know what to think anymore. It seemed that women now-a-days did nothing but confuse him.

"What do you mean by that? Can't you see it yourself?" she asked blatantly, and when she received nothing as answer from her comrade's clueless self, she merely sighed. "What I'm saying, Kuro, is that you... you are..."

~o0o~

It was needless to say that the Kokehime Jinja was much more interesting to visit after the Sun was down. When the young nobles and the servant arrived at the place, they were warmly welcomed by many different kinds of delicious smells, beautiful lights and the noises of mixed voices of the people surrounding them as they found themselves entering an amazing broad-walk fair that extended itself through the whole Jinja's territory.

A little bit after they had entered the place, they found out what was happening there was actually the yearly Harumatsuri, held by one of the big Edo families that had allied itself to the Nuragumi – the Awarashi. Though they weren't that famous or wealthy, their affiliation for hard work had attracted the Nuras' attention quite a bit quickly, being it they were well-known for their commercial activities in the centermost parts of Edo.

The companionship between the two Kumi had been sealed back at when the Awarashi were in deed need of some help with their sales, in a time of a little economic crisis within the country, in which they had to give up on some important employees due to the lack of money for their payment. As an experimental solution, the Sandaime had entrusted them with his most efficient servant to provide them at least half of the support they needed, and, if they were satisfied with the service the Nuragumi's worker could offer, he would certainly send more of them. If the help was successful, in exchange, the Awarashi would become one of the Nuragumi's support in that time of crisis, when the two families would be balancing each other, so that none of them would be economically damaged, something that the Nura had been doing for quite a while with most of their allied households, – the Ienaga included – only with different proposals to each, the arranged marriage being one of them.

Needless to say the experiment had worked pretty well. With the head aide's rather overly exaggerated help, the Awarashi were able to supply their desperate needs for more workers, and, in a few months, they were back to their normal financial state, without even having to take in any more of the Nura servants with them. It was the same as saying one young woman alone was able to save an entire family with her persistence and determination to accomplish the job she had been given.

After all, that was the mission her admirable master had entrusted her with.

During her stay with the Awarashi, who were mostly men, she had to admit there were many difficulties on her way at the beginning, and most of them were resumed to the fact the members of that family didn't really trust her or the Nuragumi at all. But, as she proved herself worthy of their expectations within time, a strong bond was created between them, and, soon enough, all of them had become very fond of the young bodyguard. They were now quite close.

The Wakagashira himself would even say "**too** close".

Even after coming back to the Nura mansion, Tsurara had her ways to keep in touch with them, and so she and they would continue to treat each other so familiarly, regardless of the long time they had been separated. As they met again, not only smiles and greetings were exchanged amongst them, but also many other intimate sorts of contact, and the fact the Awarashi females were either taking care of their domestic duties or enjoying themselves at the Matsuri while the men worked didn't make the sight any better for Rikuo, who watched the males approach and surround the petite girl, their attentions mostly at her than anything else.

While they chatted quite happily with her, they kept mentioning how beautiful she looked in her get-up or how cute she was for blushing at their comments, patting her head and laughing with her. Still, the white-haired young man was able to keep his ground quite well from a little distance, letting his hardworking servant have some time to have fun with her companions while he tried his best to pay attention to his own friends and their private conversation, which was mostly about Tsurara and her relationship with all of those declassed-looking men.

Rikuo was only not able to hold himself when he saw the Awarashi had invited her to help them with the stalls a little, if she wanted to. Knowing she wouldn't refuse, even if she wasn't up to fulfilling the request, he decided to step in, greeting the crowd, willing to take the girl with him as soon as he was free. However, Tsurara was able to beat him to that, accepting their offer before he had even approached them, excusing herself with him and disappearing with a few co-workers as the rest of them gave him, his arranged bride and his old companions a polite but friendly greeting.

Rikuo was then left to watch as Tsurara disappeared into the corner, almost as if she had been trying to escape from him, feeling he had just let her slip right past his fingers, like she was made of smoke.

During the rest of the evening, all he could do was to observe as she happily helped the Awarashi while keeping a careful eye on his injured form as he followed his group through the Jinja, which was her task from the beginning. In the process, Rikuo kept trying to enjoy the time with his childhood mates and to give the well-deserved attention to his fiancée, something he that hadn't had success at doing until now, and that he would probably have none yet again, since he could barely concentrate on whatever she was saying, though he was trying hard to be able to, with the fact that was the best thing to do being chanted in his mind, as if he was trying to convince himself it really was so. Yet no matter how hard he tried to enjoy everything, the food and drinks seemed tasteless in his mouth, his friend's comic actions didn't please him as they should, he had to force himself to smile and speak falsely to everyone, and, whenever he passed by the spot where he could see his aide gleefully surrounded by dozens of men, he would have to suppress the urge to glare or clench his jaw and hands, but, not because he was angry. He was feeling quite a bit jealous, yes, yet that wasn't the feeling consuming his very heart at the moment. It was just… pure and plain loneliness.

And so, he kept hoping to go back home would come soon, but it seemed that even time that night had been wanting to slowly torture him.

~o0o~

"Are you sure, Natsumi?" Saori asked a little worriedly, her eyebrows furrowing slightly at her best friend, who was standing by the shouji doors of their shared room with a small candle in hands.

"Yeah, I just need a bit of fresh air." Was the lame answer from the brunette as she exited silently, careful not to disturb the rest of the household, which was now at their usual curfew, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You know, I could go with you." The blonde maid offered kindly, but was gently rejected as the other one gave her one last smile before leaving for good, claiming she needed some time alone. Saori only complied because she was starting to think that, maybe, leaving her alone was the best thing for the time being. After all, she didn't know what else to do, since she had never seen Natsumi that way before. The girl had been absolutely normal the whole day before leaving to her little tour through the city to visit the Senba Jinja, yet, after she came back, she started acting completely out of character.

When Saori saw the shouji slide open that afternoon, she thought what would have greeted her was Natsumi's usual "kitty smile" and her babbling of how nostalgic she had been feeling back home, but what had done so was actually a tomato-red blush and pursed lips, tripping all the way to her futon as she threw herself into it, covering her whole body, regardless of the rather high spring temperatures or the fact she would probably ruin her dress, and claiming she needed some sleep. Later, Saori found out about the injury on her foot, which only made things more suspicious. Whenever the memory of that event came back to her, Saori couldn't help but wonder what could have happened, yet her roommate refused to share with her.

Though, whatever it was, she was almost 100% sure it had to do with "**him**".

Outside, Natsumi began to wander aimlessly through the dark corridors, already regretting her need for a little walk, the eerie silence and the spooky darkness sending shivers up her spine. Sighing sharply, she decided to go back to her room. Turning on her heels, she almost let out a loud, surprised scream when she found herself chest to chest with an older woman, who she didn't sense coming closer, the uneasily dancing yellow lights of her candle making said female's face look quite a bit somber, the shadows from her curly chocolate hair marking her foxy smile. Luckily, Natsumi's voice was muffled as a slender hand flew quickly to meet her open mouth, her startled face becoming softer as she finally recognized the one before her.

"Ah…" the girl breathed in relief as she was released, still shaking from the shock, "Ke... Kejourou-san..."

"May I know what you're doing out of your room at this hour?"

"Oh, I, hum..." the younger brunette struggled to think straight and remember what she was supposed to be doing, "I needed some fresh air."

"I see..." Kejourou sighed, seeming a bit disappointed with the answer. "Say, do you have some time?"

"For what...?" Natsumi asked innocently, oblivious of her friend's suggestive smile.

"You see, I need you to do me a favor."

~o0o~

Kiyotsugu was the first to leave. It was starting to get late, and that was the reinforcement to his argument, which claimed he needed to be up early in the morning for his sword practice. Hearing that, and also knowing Kana wasn't very happy to see her friend parting, Rikuo invited him to practice at the Nura mansion's doujo without her consent (since he knew she would disapprove him training in his state). Thankfully, Kiyotsugu gladly accepted the offer, apologizing for leaving ahead of them. Soon enough, he had disappeared down the Jinja's long stairways with his usual cheeky smile.

The following was Yura, who wasn't exactly going home yet, but was called by a pretty woman with darkish pink hair and aquamarine eyes to join a group of nobles that seemed to be heading towards the Kokehime Jinja's buildings, their way being respectfully made by the humble crowd, which began to stare and mutter about the rather unusual-looking motion, while the unimpressed ones accompanying the Kekain heiress didn't take long at all to understand who those passing people were.

"I'm sorry, Ienaga-san. I'll have to excuse myself." The brunette apologized, bowing slightly to her friend. "Momoishi-nee-chan is calling me."

"'Momoishi-nee-chan'?" Kana inquired, "Are you talking about that Ojou-san calling you over there?"

"Yes, that's one of my new cousins. She became Akifusa-nii-chan's wife last winter." Yura explained. "We are all going to Mamiru-nii-chan's graduation ceremony."

Kana's eyes widened slightly at the familiar name, memories flashing through her mind for a split second. Keikain Mamiru – she remembered him. He was one of the closest people in the world to her old best friend, if she recorded well. He was a little older than her and also quite a bit good-looking, always staying serious and quiet, occupied with his family's works and training most of his time – in other words, that young man was ever since little much like Rikuo was now that he had grown.

With a raising silver brow, Rikuo repeated what the female Onmyouji had said, but it ended up coming out as a question. "'Graduation ceremony'...?"

"Yes. Mamiru-nii-chan has completed his training." Yura clarified, indifferent to the fact that Rikuo had quickly averted his gaze somewhere as he seemed to have spotted something in the distance, "He's now a full-fledged Onmyouji, so we're holding a small party for him, even though he says he doesn't need one. It's our tradition, after all."

"And all the Keikain members have to be present for it to start, so hurry up, slowpoke." An irritated voice came from behind, making Yura turn around with a childish frown as she found herself facing no one other than her older brother, Keikain Ryuuji, glaring her with crossed arms, his droopy eyes hitting right through her like bullets.

"H-Hum... see you later then, Yura-chan. You're free to visit us again tomorrow if you want." Kana waved with an awkward smile, receiving the same from the long-haired brunette as she disappeared in the middle of the many serious-looking men.

"Well, now... looks like we're all by ourselves, Rikuo-kun." She said after a while, sounding a little happier than she should as she turned around, only to stop in mid-step, blinking twice as she didn't find her groom anywhere behind her. "Ri... kuo-kun...?"

~o0o~

Jirou simply couldn't believe his luck.

He had never thought that he would ever be able to do what he was doing now, but, as much as it seemed too good to be true, he had managed score a little date with his childhood crush herself. He had found Tsurara walking aimlessly somewhere close to where he and the others were in the middle of the moving crowd, like a needle in a haystack. She was probably looking for them, but didn't seem to have seen them there. Since his oblivious friends were in the middle of a talk, Jirou sneaked away from them without being seen or even missed, approaching the aide quickly and asking her if she would like to spend some time with him, doing his best not to let her see her superior was just a few meters ahead. Much to his relief, she didn't spot the heir nor did she turn his offer down, but reminded him that the "time" he was asking for would have to be limited, since she was there with the sole purpose of guarding her master. And, with that, the two began walking together towards the opposite direction of the one Kana, Yura and Rikuo were.

"So, what would you wish to do now, Oikawa-san?" the spiky-haired boy asked with a blush and trying his best to be polite, his smile quickly fading as soon as he noticed there was no one by his side anymore. He then tried looking forward, to his other side, and turning around to look behind him, but his (five-second) mate was nowhere to be found. Panicking, he began to speed around the fair, his head turning frantically to so many directions his neck felt like it would snap at any second.

How could he have lost someone like that? If she had accepted to go with him, she couldn't have just ran away. And, even if she had, he had been a little embarrassed in her company, but not actually distracted, so he would have seen her if she had left by herself. But, what if she hadn't?

What if she had been caught by someone?

~o0o~

The amount of people gathering around the main building of the Kokehime Jinja had increased greatly in the past few minutes, in response of a call made by one of the priests, the chattering of the humble citizens becoming louder and louder as they excitedly waited for what promised to be the best moment of the night. Behind said building, not only all the Jinja's residents and workers but the ones responsible for the organization of that happy party crowded together in front of a huge wooden table, holding countless little cylindrical recipients lined up together, long paraffin-covered twines coming out of them.

Lightning up a small torch, a tall orange-haired man walked up to the table, passing the fire through each and every one of the twines before taking a few steps back. Soon enough, one by one, the cylinders began to erupt into smoke, their contents being sent high into the darkish night sky in amazing speed, creating mesmerizing flowers of light that outshined even the moon itself as they reached their limits. The crowd's chattering then exploded into whistles, shouts and applauses, while the noble clan and the Jinja people approached the one that had started the main event of the night (which the humble Edo folk was completely unaware of) with smiles, giving him their best regards, which he politely thanked them for, staying stoic and serious.

After they were done, the Kumi started to head to the inside of the building to have their own private celebration, while the non-members went to gather together with the noisy crowd. The young man, who had decided to appreciate the rumbling spectacle a little more, finally took his leave when he noticed he had been left all by himself, the rest of his companions probably waiting for him to delight them with his presence at the Jinja's main hall. And so, he took his leave at last, slowly walking up the stairway back to the Jinja's main building.

As he was two degrees from finishing the Jinja's high stairs, he was quite a bit surprised to see one of his Gumi's members had been waiting for him all that time by the main backdoors, her hands tightly gripping her small bag and her cheeks slightly heating up, details that went unnoticed by him. Hesitantly, she walked over to his frozen form, and, once she was fully facing the young man, who was feeling rather guilty for not having sped up a little more, so that he would have left her waiting for him, she did something completely out of her character.

She hugged him.

Utterly shocked, the man dressed in black widened his already huge carrot-colored eyes as the brunette's thin arms sneaked around his neck, her face now boiling against it. He only couldn't feel her heart pounding heavily against his chest because, since she was leaning onto him in a diagonal position, supporting herself with the tip of her zouri so that she wouldn't fall off the stair, which was the only way she could be in the same level of height of his rather gigantic figure, their torsos weren't really touching, and her heartbeats' sound was thankfully not loud enough for him to hear it over all the external noise.

With a deep breath, the younger one whispered into her indirect kin's ear what she had been wanting to tell him the whole night, but didn't have the opportunity to until the present moment, "Congratulations, Mamiru-nii-chan."

Blinking twice, the wavy-haired Onmyouji then let out a deep breath, an uncharacteristic smile making its way to his usually thin-lined lips, his once empty-looking eyes significantly regaining their shine at the sweet gesture of the petite girl clinging to him. Beginning to enjoy the contact, he allowed himself to wrap his arms around her thin waist, to which she shivered and shuddered slightly, trying to control her own body's reactions to being pressed against him, to which she failed miserably. Appreciating the cute female's off-character moment, he made his grip grow tighter around her as he leaned his cheek against the top of her head slightly. "Thank you, Yura."

The two stood like that for a while, unaware of a pair of frowning eyes watching them from the not-so-distant darkness of the Jinja.

~o0o~

"Oikawa-san?! Oikawa-saaan~?" Jirou continued to call almost desperately for his now missing companion, his voice slowly becoming fainter as he walked farther away from her without knowing.

"Don't answer him." A deep voice commanded sternly, its owner's warm breath's condensation breezing all the way through the ear of his most trusted servant, who now found herself in the safest place of the whole world – at least, in her honest opinion.

Her master's arms.

For that reason, she wasn't feeling the slightest bits scared or insecure, even in the current state she found herself in – embraced by her superior after he skillfully captured her without being spotted by anyone around, leading her to the forest that surrounded the Jinja's domain and hiding with her behind a random tree, waiting for his old friend to move further into the Matsuri until he had totally mixed himself within the crowd, losing Tsurara completely.

Once the blond was out of reach, the snow white aide felt free to look up at the Soudaishou-to-be, her eyebrows furrowing slightly in pity for the poor blond (which she could notice not to be a mutual feeling) as she demanded for answers, minding her voice tone so that the by-passers wouldn't hear her, even though there was almost no one around them at the moment. "Wa... Waka, what was that for?"

"Tsurara."

At Rikuo's tenor and serious voice, the aide flinched before straightening herself into the arms that refused to let her go, her ocean stare trying to meet the bloody red one, but failed as his spiky bangs kept covering it, "W-What?"

"Your purpose in coming here was to watch over me, isn't that right?"

"I-Isn't that obvious?" the raven-haired girl asked automatically as she tried to figure out what kind of conversation he could be starting, only not trying to struggle out of the Wakagashira's strong yet careful grip because she knew it would be useless. "That's right; I'm only here for your sake. For other things, I..."

"Then why is it that you've been keeping a distance from me the whole time?" he interrupted blandly.

"Eh?"

"It was almost as if... you were ignoring me." Rikuo absent-mindedly let his head fall painlessly on one of Tsurara's tiny shoulders. "You've been like that for a while now... every time that I tried to come closer to you, you'd just go farther away... and this time, with other guys too." He nuzzled his face into the base of her neck, his grip growing slightly tighter around her. "You've never been like that with me before. At least, not that I remember."

With her face on fire, Tsurara swallowed dryly, trying her best to keep her heartbeats even, the feeling of safety soon gone.

During the evening, she had to admit she had been quite a bit distracted some times, but she had kept her eyes on her master from a distance, giving her future mistress some well-deserved peace to enjoy her time together with her husband-to-be, trying to distract herself by helping the Awarashi with their business, so that it wouldn't be as painful to her. But, now that she thought about it, maybe she had overdone it, and so she had ended up making things painful to him instead.

She knew it.

She knew the reason why he had chosen to wear a red haori for that event wasn't just fashion, but to make her feel more comfortable after that morning. She knew he had to hold himself back every time other men approached her (even though he was well aware they were only her friends). She knew that only having Kana's presence wasn't nearly enough for him. She knew all of that and more, and yet… she ended up creating a barrier between them all that time, and, adding that to the fact she had let herself enjoy the company of many males as the Matsuri went on, she had most likely made him feel forgotten and unimportant.

That was something she had never done before.

Guilt suddenly took over the servant's mind as she pursed her lips, feeling even worse than she had been the morning before, when she had to leave her master all alone in his room. Slowly and uncertainly, she tried to free her arms, which were being sandwiched between her and his chests, leading them to a more comfortable place on both of his sides. Knowing he could now feel how hot her face was against his right shoulder and how her heart was beginning to pound more strongly against his chest, she tried a little harder to stay still as she mustered out some courage to talk. "M… My deepest apologies, Waka. I was just… trying to do my best to keep watching you without getting on Kana-sama's way." as she had always been. "You two were supposed to enjoy your time together, after all, so I thought it would have been better if I stepped aside a little, but I think… I think I ended up getting carried away." She sighed lamely, "I-Is there anything I can do to make up for that?"

She could feel him smile against her soft skin, which made little butterflies work their ways through her stomach, "Yeah."

With an arched brow, Tsurara was wondering why her master's voice somehow now sounded a little different from a while before when something coming from above caught her eye. Slowly and delicately descending onto Rikuo's slender back was a small, light pink flower petal. The aide took some seconds of contemplation to admire it a bit, when she finally realized what kind of flower that petal was from. Throwing her head up, her indigo eyes widened slightly as her suspicions were confirmed.

They were under a Sakura.

Her hold on the Sandaime loosened as she pursed her lips, about to ask what was it that he wanted her to do to compensate for her actions, when a sound that seemed to be the one of an explosion boomed loudly through the whole place, making the startled girl jump into the protective figure that held her, her arms back to her chest as her hands squeezed tightly onto his clothes. As the explosions proceeded, other sounds began to follow, but those belonged to what seemed to be a huge crowd a little far away from where the couple was. Happy laughs, clapping hands, and wolf-whistles. Her eyes falling to the ground, she noticed how the grass beneath her was reflecting many sorts of colors, especially blue, yellow, green and red, accompanying the rhythm of the booming sounds that seemed to come from above. With that, Tsurara was able to understand what was happening behind her, despite not being able to see any of it.

Hanabi.

A slightly cold breeze blew gently then, the head bodyguard's blush coming back slowly as more Sakura petals fell over her and her superior, who was now at last moving his face to look directly at her. With his hands still around her, as if to prevent her from running away (which was unlikely, since she was stuck between him and a large three), his serious yet warm burgundy pools fell over her insecure and embarrassed azure ones – but this time, it was clearly her who didn't was to look at him. He remembered it perfectly how he had seen that look on her face last time they had found themselves like that, the familiar feeling of satisfaction from having her captive in his grasp like a defenseless little kitten making the corner of his lips curl up a little, which Tsurara didn't take notice of, since, for a split second, she could have sworn his orbs had flashed scarlet, something she had only seen happen once in her life, in a night that looked a lot like the one they were living now, which was making her not like at all where the situation she was in was being led to, fearing how troublesome things would get later. And, together with that fear, many other sensations came to her. The disturbing feeling deep inside of being cut right through without injuries, the sudden urge to throw her arms around herself and cover her body, the incapacity of tossing her eyes anywhere else… all of that caused by one single thing.

That very look.

With her lips trembling, she did all she could to make her voice come back to her, so that she could ask her master to let her go, since she would most likely have no success in trying to free herself, but she had no time to talk as the Wakagashira suddenly leaned his forehead against hers in a way their lashes were almost brushing against each other, his warm voice kindly breaking through all the background noise as he said what his servant had obviously anticipated he would, but inwardly and uselessly prayed he wouldn't.

"Just... let me kiss you."

~o0o~

"Ienaga-san!" Jirou called over all the loud sounds of hanabi and the cheering people on the background as he waved to the heiress in front of him, utterly relieved to have finally found someone in the gigantic maze that was the Kokehime Jinja.

"Shima-kun!" Kana turned to face him, mirroring his expression, "Thank goodness... I finally found yo..." her voice faltered down, and so did her smile, "wait, isn't Rikuo-kun with you?"

"Eh?" the blond frowned in confusion, "No... why would he be?"

"I thought you had started walking ahead of me... I had bid goodbye to Yura-chan, and, when I saw it, none of you were there."

"I-Is that so?" the puzzled heir scratched his chin, "Well, I wasn't with him, nor did I see him anywhere. After Keikain-san was gone, I went to talk to Oikawa-san and..." trailing himself off, he seemed to have snapped back to what he had been wanting to get at as he asked rather desperately, his face becoming hopeful, "oh, yeah! Have you seen her anywhere?!"

"W-What?" the brunette stammered, fearing what she was going to earn as answer as she asked, "N-No, why?"

"Because, when we were walking around the fair, she suddenly disappeared! It was as if she had simply **vanished**!" the spiky-haired boy said frantically, his eyebrows furrowing into a panicky scowl, "W-What if she was kidnapped or something like that, Ienaga-san?!"

"T-This can't be..." Kana sputtered, more to herself than to her friend. Her chocolate eyes fell to the dirty ground for a little moment, with the black-eyed boy looking back at her, trying to figure out what she suddenly began thinking so fiercely about as she glared the cement beneath her zouri. A couple of seconds passed, and she seemed to have decided to dismiss whatever she had in mind, taking the blond's hand in hers, her expression now determined and somehow a little fearful, "Looks like we can't separate anymore. Let's go look for them together!"

Upon being rather rudely pulled into a fast walk around the fair without any warning, Jirou blushed almost madly, his mind now half-occupied with his worries regarding Tsurara and the other half with how nice the feeling of Kana's hand was on his, the warm and soft sensations against his skin having him completely oblivious of the heiress's unusual and un-lady-like behavior or her strangely quick swing of moods as the two tried not to trip or bump into anyone or anything on their way.

Even though the brunette wasn't even looking at him, she had already taken note of how slow he was to catch hints, for she was quite sure that if he had understood the current situation, he would have freaked out much more than he already had just a while ago. She knew that simply because only one night was already enough to see how the obvious boy had fallen all over the heels yet again for the raven-haired aide, just like back when they were children (only, this time, what had attracted him had been her now matured form), so not having the same reaction as her as they both shared rather suspicious pieces of information with each other was a proof of how clueless he was. After all, to have both master and servant suddenly gone without anyone seeing them in the middle of a seemingly never-ending crowd, and moreover, in close timings, was just too odd. And the Ienaga daughter had a good suspicion of what had really happened.

But yet, she would still grasp tightly onto hopes that she was wrong.

~o0o~

END OF ANOTHER HORRIBLE CHAPTER! So… SHOULD THEY KISS?! SHOULD THEY NOT?! ARE THEY GONNA BE CAUGHT IN THE (LEWD) ACT?!

Sadly, this chapter was not as centered in the main couple as the others, but it showed more teases for other pairings I support, like MamiYura and KuroNatsu, and thus, I feel like I've been being a little mean to Rikuo... that's why the next update will be **overloaded** with RikuTsura! Next time, there shall be more revelations yet more questions, more characters, more romance, and I'll just have to find a way to make everything go smoothly and in a way all the important parts will be left to the ends of the story. In short, I'm screwed! XD Oh, and, no one was able to guess what had happened the year before this story was set in... I wonder if it's clearer now. You're free to continue trying to get it right! I think it's even **more** obvious now! O_O Speaking of guessing, you can also guess what Kuro and Natsumi did while they were alone in his room, fufufufu. And this might be your last chance! I'm planning to reveal everything in the next update! XP

Well, now let's go for a special announcement: _**HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY, SUKI-CHAAAN~!**_ Was this chapter good enough? Please, tell me what you think! And. Be. Honest! There's no point if you aren't, since this chappie was especially for you!

Oh, now that we touched the "birthday" subject, if you guys are having your birthday anytime soon, let me know so I can give you my own congratulations with a writing work. I know it isn't nearly as good as you guys deserve, but, it's the only way I can thank you for all of your support… TT3TT

And now, for the following remarks:

1) As you all, old readers, could see, I put on a proper cover for this story! But, attention: it's **NOT** my art! I know that posting this here was wrong, since there's a little requirement saying I should either own the image or have permission to use it, but, I just couldn't help it. I don't know this artist, but, I'm very thankful for how this pic seems to fit my story well. What also helps me not feel so guilty is that I know there are many more people out there doing the same as I am. But I have the balls to disclaim this one. So, for this artist, whoever you are and wherever you are: thank you! And please, guys, tell me what you think of it.

2) About Kiyo and Yura's designs: yes, it was Kiyo's samurai costume and Yura's Shikigami Fusion one. I think I don't need to explain why I decided to use that for them, right? I mean, their normal design is too western-like! I need ancient looks!

3) About the Hatsumoude outfits: yes, I used the ones of the covers of chapters 87, 119 and 208 for Rikuo (though I think it wasn't a very good get-up for him at all, but I had no better ideas), Kana, Tsurara and Yura.

4) Okay, so, Kuro blushed. I know that some of you might want to point out how this seemed to be rather OOC, but, as much as he is most of the time quite serious, he does have a certain affiliation for blushing. I mean, he's seen blushing whenever he does something embarrassing, like when he fell onto Natsumi in the subway train or when he was accused of being a molester by Saori, so I think it's not impossible for him at all… I just wanted to make that clear.

5) Yes, that was a jealous Yoru. If Rikuo can already get jealous himself, I believe his Youkai part would do pretty much the same… ten-fold.

6) If you are confused about some of the OTPs I added in this chapter, here goes some explanation:

Yes, I ship Saori with Kiyotsugu. I've already seen that a lot of people that ship RikuTsura support Kana with Kiyo (since Kana would end up being quite a loner if she wasn't with Rikuo, for Shiibashi-sensei doesn't ship her with anyone else), but I don't really think that makes much sense, since there was never a single hint of chemistry between those two. Well, now you must be thinking "but there's no chemistry between Kiyo and Saori either". I don't think it's quite like that. I've already noticed that Saori is kinda attracted to Kiyo's looks and that sometimes she goes a little tsundere on him. I even recall one of those scenes in the manga (Jami's chapters) when she openly said: "Gah, just when I thought you were an impressive guy!" while beating him up or something like that. So, yeah, that's why I ship them, so I decided to add them to my story, though this is one of the pairings I don't really pay much attention to (just like KurotabouxNatsumi and others).

Yes, I ship Yura with Mamiru. I also noticed how some of the NuraMago fans like to either ship Yura with Rikuo or with Ryuuji. Well, sorry for being blunt, but I hate both options. Since it's obvious why I hate RikuYura, let's just skip to why I hate the second one: Nurarihyon no Mago isn't a freaking Shoujo. Just because Yura and Ryuuji fight a lot but show that in the end they love each other, doesn't mean that there's a romantic sense to their relationship. They're siblings, and that's how brothers and sisters treat each other (I say that from my own experience, since I have a little sister myself). They fight, they have misunderstandings, they get mad… yet they are still family. Of course there has to be some love there. But people just don't seem to understand that. Other than those tsundere moments they have, there's nothing more to them, so that kind of weak appeal doesn't really make them a pairing – at least, not in my opinion. But, as for Mamiru, even though he has very little screen time, he is always able to show how he cares about Yura the most in a romantic-looking sense, like when he says things such as "It was because of Yura… that I became like this." or "I will protect Yura!". He's so cutely open about that it makes me want to bite something. And that's why I ship them.

Yes, I ship Akifusa with Momoishi. I know there are many fans that ship Akifusa with Ryuuji, but, what the hell? Where's the romance between them? And, though there might be no romance between Akifusa and Momoishi either, I found it kawaii how Akifusa acted when Hidemoto the thirteenth seemed to want to play with her body. Also, he said he owned a lot to her. That made me wonder what happened while they were alone together at Osoreyama… I see nothing connecting Ryuuji with Akifusa in that sense. Besides, I don't think there's anyone else better for either of them, so, that's why I ship them.

Well, I hope that has explained the many reasons why I ship "Character A" with "Character B" and not with any other character of NuraMago, so that I wouldn't get flamed at. Oh, but I would like to mention that, when I mentioned the NuraMago fandom, I was aware there are the exceptions of the fans that just ship characters, not because they have a romantic relationship with each other, but because they are cute together or stuff like that. I can understand those. And, if you're wondering why I added those to the plot since I'm not that devoted to them, I just always think that, the more characters and pairings the fan-made stories have, the better. It makes them more interesting, don't you think?

7) Many of you must be thinking that it was a little too early for Rikuo to leave bed due to his injuries. Well, it's Nura Rikuo we're talking about, lol. Not showing how awesome his physic is would make him rather OoC, wouldn't it?

8) I think I owe you guys an apology for not making the reunion of the Kiyojuuji Kaiki Tanteidan (which is obviously not a club here) not last or be as good as it should have and for this chapter not being as long or having the quality it should've had, even though I took so long to make it… sorry, guys.

9) Okay, people didn't use the term "youkai" before Meiji Era, but, let's pretend they did in this story. I want this to be during Edo Era, so...

10) **Now, the most important remark** (in my opinion)**!** I hope this chapter has explained, at least a little, about how and why Rikuo and Kana were engaged to each other. I had reviews asking me if Rikuo, who, as a man, had the right to break the engagement, was only not doing so for Kana to be happy. Now you see that **wasn't** the reason. He has to marry her for the sake of both their households. I hope you have no doubts about that anymore!

And, again, here are a lot of very kind anonymous reviews that I just **need** to reply to!

T: You just made me laugh the life out of my body, thank you.

Thanks again. I'm so glad you always make such detailed reviews, too.

YES, THAT'S RIGHT! It's exactly what I've been trying to do. I'm so happy people see it…

You shall see... muahahaha (I have to stop this).

Absolutely, Tsurara has no other choice. Poor little thing.

Oh, it's good to know that. I love when I get these reactions from the readers, hehehe.

Yes, haha, he'll suffer quite a bit in Tsurara's hands.

That's good to know. I shall add more pairings that need love with a lot of screen time, mainly because Shiibashi-sensei seems to want to leave all the good shipping tease to RikuTsura (not that this is a bad thing, but, the other pairings need attention too!).

polka: Awn, I'm honored to know that. Thank you.

Nadilicious: "T"? If you're talking about the rating, I put it T to be safe, like I said in the summary. Anyways, good to know you were so happy. Ah, it's not like he "finally" said it, since I stated it wasn't the first time he showed that he loved her. And I'm sorry for creeping you out, lol.

Of course you're not annoying. The more, the merrier! Ask as many times you want!

It wasn't only you, hehe, I'm glad.

Yeah.

michie05: Wow, thank you very much for all the kindness and the flattery!

Thanks again, and take care too!

Meiwaa: Thank you. I'm so happy to see you liked the update! I worked hard on it for three weeks! Oh, tell me what you think that happened!

Hahaha, the marriage shall happen as soon as possible! No, I'm not joking.

Thanks again! Yes, Tsurara has always been far too loyal for her own good.

Absolutely! Hohoho!

And don't forget about RikuoxZen, RikuoxItaku, and RikuoxRikuo shippers. I see many of them bashing RikuTsura on net. Why, just **why**?!

Thanks, I agree, and I will try my best!

Kuro: Wow, it feels so gratifying to have dedicated readers like you, even though I don't deserve that~! Thank you so much~! *all my creys*

Thanks again. I'm glad you liked the little improvement of Kana's character in this story.

Exact 13,100 words, haha.

You're very welcome.

Ah, forgive me, but I can't fulfill your request. You see I'm a long/detailed descriptions lover and a perfectionist, so the tendency is not to shorten the paragraphs at all, but actually to make them even bigger. But, don't worry. Even if you don't know English well, I'm sure you've been keeping up pretty fine with my story. I mean, you were able to make it to chapter three and point out a lot of things, so I believe you were able to understand what you've been reading. Also, if you need to improve, then it's good for you to keep reading more and more, right? So don't apologize. I know you're capable of overcoming something as simple as learning a language. DO YOUR BEST! I'M CHEERING FOR YA! (Meh, I know, I'm just too dramatic… XP)

Ahaha, how kawaii of you.

Oh, my. Why don't you create an account already? I've only been a fanfic reader for three years and look at me now (okay, so that wasn't convincing)!

Well, it's Kuro now. And I love black too~!

I shall continue this till the very end.

I'll try my best to keep updating as fast as I can manage, but, please, understand that I also have a busy school life, other on-going stories and a little bit of writer's block.

Oh, gosh, another crazy brain robber...

Yuki Onna: Why, thank you! I've been doing my best and trying updating regularly.

"Waking"? I think you meant "waiting"… anyways, you don't need to wait anymore! I hope this chapter was good enough.

Pikachu: Ahaha, thanks for that. I just **LOVE** to make my readers have lotsa feels.

That shall happen only later! Congrats for (technically) guessing what I was going to do in the future~!

Guest: Well, it wasn't quite "soon", but, here is the update! I truly hope the wait was worth it!

Oh, man, I feel like my ANs have been occupying too much space in my chapters! Sorry again for that, but it can't be helped, since I prefer to never leave you guys in the dark about anything! Now, thank you for accompanying this story until this point. You guys have some nerve to put up with my shit! I hope I'm able to make you stay until the end. And, if it's not much, I'd like to kindly ask for your opinions about this story so far, and for you guys to help me with ideas for future chapters, or maybe even other stories.


	5. Festivity II

The raven-haired Souhei lay silently yet not quite peacefully by the base of the Nura-gumi's most charming tree, absent-mindedly watching the hanabi spectacle kilometers away, the noise of flash powder popping in the distance barely audible in his ears. Upon staring blankly at the gorgeous scene, his mind found itself elsewhere, back at what he had heard from his emerald-eyed friend that evening.

"_What I'm saying, Kuro, is that you..." she paused for a moment, her head dropping down almost loosely as she stared a little awkwardly at the tatami while fixing her hair without real need to. "you are..." she had tried to continue, but yet again she stopped, looking anywhere but his face as she seemed to be trying to find the best way to tell him what she had in mind._

_After a couple of seconds, Kuro's rising interest seemed to be taking the better of him as he felt the need to press on slightly, or else, he would most likely be left in the dark. "I am...?"_

_Kejourou then understood she would have no success in her search for words, and so she decided to just be blunt at once. With a sigh, she finally raised her eyes to meet his, with no hints of doubts or suggestion in them, just plain affirmation as she suddenly seemed to have become serious. "...in love."_

_The man had to admit that it had taken a little more than normal for him to process the information. But, once he did, his reaction surprised even himself._

_He did nothing._

_Both were silent after the two words, the onyx-eyed male finally understanding his comrade's slight embarrassment in saying something like that to someone like him, who, in his glorious twenty years of age, hadn't had a single girlfriend. And, with that, she retired, probably thinking he needed some time to himself, and leaving his half-eaten dinner with him. The meal, however, wasn't touched anymore, for he seemed to have completely lost his little appetite._

_While stuck all alone in his dark place, he seemed to also have started having some difficulties to breathe. He felt pressured. It was as if his room was getting smaller and the walls coming closer. As he started to feel a little suffocated, he opened the shouji doors that led to the garden and nearly desperately threw himself outside, walking a bit before collapsing in a sitting position onto the grass, his back landing on the Sakura's thick trunk. Steadying his breath after a couple of minutes with the help of the humid and refreshing outside air, he had started thinking with himself, which took much more than he expected as he found out it had already become night time and he was still in the same place._

In those hours of reflection, his mind had been wandering around and about many things, one of them being the fact that he wasn't considering the possibility of Kejourou's assumption being wrong, and the reason why was beyond him. After all, if she were talking about any other woman, he was downright sure he would have protested and argued against the very moment she gave him that kind of look, no matter how certain she could seem to be about it. But, this time, with this girl, why didn't he do that? Why was it that, instead, he caught himself continuously trying to actually **accept** the idea of being in love with her instead of contesting it, regardless of how impossible it seemed for him to be falling for a common, poor little maid?

What was it that made her an exception? What was it that he could have seen in her? What was it that could be so special about her?

Perhaps... perhaps it had been how she had seemed instantly relieved and utterly happy to have been able to look at him in the eyes again for the first time in so long, when they finally met again in that hateful alley. That single eye contact had made colors boom all over his vision, as if the grey, repetitive world he used to live in had suddenly become brighter. Perhaps it had been how she had caused him to feel really satisfied to have her comfortable in his arms one more time, as if she had always belonged there. Or perhaps, it had been how she had literally tempted him to the point he had found himself leaning too dangerously close to her after he was done with her foot, as if he was involuntarily going to try something like... like kissing. In resume, she indeed did have some strange effects on him, as if she was some sort of drug.

The question then had become: how was it that, being she was just an ordinary girl, she could be so "**addictive**" to him?

Lost across the borders of his own messed thoughts and feelings, Kurotabou didn't take notice of the sound of steps onto the cracking grass or the presence of a certain someone coming closer to him. At least, not until he felt a warm little hand reaching his shoulder gently with a faint "excuse me" from a timid feminine voice that, upon jumping slightly from his sitting position, he didn't recognize. As he was unintentionally startled, the momentary surprise he was distracted enough to be caught off-guard from behind for the first time in seven years made him instinctively seize the hand's owner by the wrist with a fast movement, knocking them over in an intimidating but not hurtful act, in which he earned a quick yelp by whoever he now had in his hold, lying beneath him on the damp grass.

As a pair of onyx cat-like eyes began to register in his field of vision, a drop of sweat uneasily broke through his forehead and blood began to accumulate in his cheeks. His eyes widened significantly as the full image of the one he was on top of formed before him, just the ones looking back at him were doing. "Na..." he sputtered at the young woman panting hardly to stable her heartbeats from the shock, her arms unsteadily trembling from both of her sides against the Souhei's not painful hold and her beautifully loose hair spread freely, "Natsumi-san...!"

Could the situation be any worse?

Panic soon took over him as he realized she was now probably going to think he had the worst intentions with his actions. He saw her mouth trying to open, a bright blush forming on her cheeks just like it was on his, and a probably** huge** trouble coming. Whatever she was going to do next, if he was to ever try stopping her, he would only seem fishier, so the best that he could do was most likely to let her do it, and later he could try to explain himself. Still, even if he was free of any fault, he seriously doubted that girl was ever going to spare him a glance again.

And, as odd as it could seem, that was what scared him the most about it all.

"I-I-I…" her wavering voice stammered. He immediately closed his eyes, knowing there wouldn't be time to redeem even if he backed up and apologized, as he waited for whatever kind of merciless and dirty things she was probably going to call hi– "I'm so sorry!"

Again that day, Kurotabou had unusual problems to take in what he had just heard. But this time, once he did, he didn't stay quiet at all, despite his shock. Though all he was able to manage was a confused, "Y-Yes...?"

What followed suit was the brunette proceeding to babble on many things, most of them about how sorry she was to disturb and scare him. Meanwhile, all he could do was to watch her embarrassed form as she tried not to look at him no matter what, wondering just what could possibly be going on that girl's mind. Any other woman would have been feeling violated at that point, perfectly screamed for help, or tried to struggle out of his hold. Well, either that or just lie there and let him do whatever he looked like he was going to. Any other woman – not this one. This one seemed to be too air-headed to do anything of the sort.

"Air-headed"? No, rather "too innocent".

Innocent, pure and simple-minded, just like a child. She was most likely able to notice she had caught him unprepared, and that his response had not been given with any malicious intents – that was Torii Natsumi for you. Everything that resumed her being seemed to be the complete opposite of the life the Souhei had and all it represented. With that realization, Kurotabou's eyes suddenly snapped wide open for a second, which the stuttering made didn't see while keeping her gaze on the grass, and then they warmed in apparent relief and joy as everything around him seemed not to exist anymore, not even the voice of the girl right beneath him, a smile making its way to his lips – genuine, full-fledged smile, something even rarer than a smile itself (at least, for him).

"I see..." the brunette immediately stopped all her movements to look up at the Souhei with her hands instinctively flying to her chest, trying to hear clearly whatever he seemed to be muttering to himself and blushing harder at the sight of his facial expression, which bore nothing but happiness, "so that was it."

"'T-That was' what, Kurotabou-sa...?" Natsumi began, but was never able to finish her sentence.

After all, there was no way she could speak with a mouth sealing her own.

It had been sudden, but not quick, and a little forced, but not aggressive or painful in any way. Last time Kurotabou had touched a woman like that had been pretty long ago, so he wanted to enjoy it as much as he could. Besides, that was the girl that had brought light to his once darkish life, which meant he was definitely **not** going to hold back on her, regardless of that probably being her very first kiss, since she was so surprised she had become completely petrified against him. He knew what he was doing was selfish and reckless of him, but there was no way he could help it, or even think about anything other than the young beauty that had just made him understand how important she was to him.

She was all he needed.

Everything she was was everything he wasn't and vice-versa. It was as if she was his other half, which, if they ever decided to be together, would proceed to complete his self and become a whole, applying color to his unsightly and boring everyday affairs with her gleeful and enjoyable persona. The violence and bloodshed he would have to endure due to his profession certainly would never stain her, for she would only take place as his welcoming and comfortable place to return to. But, of course, being so different and having absolutely nothing in common could give them hard times. They would probably have many disagreements, and sometimes, admit they wouldn't know what they would be doing. But, even so, he would always come to one conclusion – no matter what, he wasn't letting go of her anymore.

She had made him regain his happy days, and, unlike anything else he had done to find his will to keep living, he doubted he was ever going to get tired of her.

Finally regaining his rationality, Kurotabou only had the decency to stop what he was doing when he took notice of how things had turned out to be against him, cursing his unthinkable behavior towards the delicate and defenseless Ojou-san he was supposed to go easy on. Picking her numb form from the ground carefully, he carried her back to the mansion and into his room, frantically looking around to see if he hadn't been seen by anyone, blushing hard and sweating slightly at the thought of acting like a criminal, inwardly chanting many sorts of swearing to himself.

She had fainted.

~o0o~

It was getting harder to contain the blush.

Rather awkwardly, things seemed to have reversed between Kana and Jirou, for now the one leading the walk through the fair in the search for the Wakagashira and his faithful servant was the boyish blond, while the elegant heiress kept walking silently behind him, her face bearing the expression he once had when she had started dragging him around the crowd and their hands still holding tightly onto each other's. The brunette, other than embarrassment, couldn't help but also feel a hint of guilt for her previous impression of the young man grasping onto her protectively. When she had first seen him again, she had really thought almost nothing in him had changed, but a little event that very night had made her opinion become otherwise.

She hadn't known if the man that had accidentally bumped onto her shoulder was drunk, but, in any case, she thought it would have been better not try finding out, even though he could have made her almost fall on purpose. She only didn't have a hard time walking around limping with a dirty kimono because her childhood friend had been able to catch her in time, pulling her closer to him. In the little moment they had shared close contact, two things had surprised her – how he seemed to feel a little hard against her, which was a sign that he wasn't as skinny and scrawny as she had deduced anymore, and how he had toughly demanded whoever that rude man was to apologize to her. He was looking angry beyond what she had ever seen before in him. It was almost scary, to the point that the unknown man, who they had figured out not to be drunk at all, turned on his heel and apologized with a bow right away.

Kana was only able to see her friend back to normal after they passed by a nursery shack near the entrance of the Jinja and had her shoulder checked. Thankfully, her delicate skin, though slightly swollen and red, wasn't bruised or cut, which was lucky of her, considering how extremely rough that big man's arm felt when it hit her. Obviously, the spiky-haired youngster would have only been angrier if she had told him the real state of her limb, so she decided to just lie that everything was alright and forget the pain.

And, she had to admit, it was relieving to see the smile back to his lips as she did so.

The nurse that had attended her, who she had kindly asked not to say a word about her shoulder's real condition, had been gentle enough to hand her a small recipient with a natural medicine to ease her muscles while Jirou waited outside. And, as the woman did the favor, she couldn't help but ask why she was lying about her state. As an answer, Kana had simply told her she didn't want him to become even more worried about her, which had made the nurse blink a few times in confusion, but then she smiled knowingly, dismissing her with a bow and a "goodbye". Things had ended up going pretty well, Kana had thought, until she heard the same nurse commenting with her co-worker something about "young love" as her and Jirou exited the place with their hands tied together as they had already been.

And it was then that her cheeks became hot and red as they had never been before.

While constantly trying to avoid people coming from all directions, Kana kept looking at her hand in her childhood companion's, her skin itching to let go, only not doing so because she knew there was a high possibility of getting lost in the crowd, her mind no longer as centered on Rikuo and Tsurara as it had been a while ago. Sometimes, her eyes would suddenly avert to look around her, as if she was being watched and judged. Or, at least, that was how she felt after that nurse mistook her and Jirou for a young couple, the majority of her thoughts now trying to figure out if that was really the impression they were giving people. She knew it was probably just her being a little paranoid about it, but she really couldn't help it. After all, she was engaged, so the last thing she wanted was to look like she was a voluble woman. Besides, there was no way something like that could ever happen between the two of them, right?

Right...?

Come to think of it, that wasn't as impossible as she had thought. That night, Jirou had proved there was much more to him than what met the eye. He had become firm (though he was still as boyish and hopeless as he used to be when little), showing that he could become the "knight-in-the-armor" kind of guy she had always dreamt with to herself when he needed to, even if he wasn't even close to what Rikuo could pull off so well. And, if she had never met the Sandaime, and wasn't engaged to anyone else, maybe, just maybe, there was a remote possibility that Jirou could be her...

"Ienaga-san?"

"Wah?!" was Kana's instinctive response as her head shot up to face her mate, which she immediately regretted as she found herself almost chest-to-chest with him after she absent-mindedly continued walking while he had already stopped in front of her. This turned out to make their faces stop much closer to each other than they should have, and Kana almost feared her blush was apparent. Thankfully, the strong hanabi lights seemed to be covering it pretty well, since no matter how embarrassed Jirou also looked, she could spot no signs of red on his face. Still, she couldn't help but feel awkward to the point of wanting to run or hide, mentally cursing herself for being so childish.

After a few seconds of being a statue as he stared down at her, Jirou finally had the decency of backing up a little panicky, "A-A-Are you feeling alright?" finally, the question stuck in his throat was able to come out, though a bit blunter than it should have. "W-We could g-go back to the nursery if you're not okay yet."

Remembering the rather uncomfortable impression of the nurse, Kana felt her cheeks grow slightly hotter as she refused, involuntarily gripping his hand tighter while asking him to keep going ahead. And, with that, the two continued to make their way through the Jinja, looking around more desperately than before, praying to hurry up and find the two they were searching, not caring anymore about whom had been their own priority to look for first. And, meanwhile, the once uncertain and insecure heiress was now sure of one little thing.

That night was going to be way longer than she had expected.

~o0o~

"You seem to be in a rather good mood."

Kejourou jumped slightly as she slid the shouji of her room shut, turning around to face the one who had commented preparing to lie on his futon behind her, well aware the happy smile she had already gave her away without her saying anything.

"What happened?"

"Fufufu, maybe you can ask that to Kuro tomorrow, Kubinashi~!" she answered with a hand over her mouth.

"Eh...?" the puzzled young man blinked a few times as his partner moved to lie close to him in his futon, sweat-dropping as he recognized the expression she bore, "K-Kejourou... don't tell me... you've been playing 'cupid' again?" a simple giggle was his only response, making him sigh at the brunette's rather meddlesome hobbies. "Have you at least given Wakana-sama the maccha she asked for?"

"Of course~!" she answered in a sing-song voice, enveloping him in her arms after blowing her candle down, leaving comfortable darkness to spread through their room.

Blushing at the sudden contact with his woman's welcomingly warm and soft chest, Kubinashi looked up sheepishly to meet her happy face. "You really do look excited." He commented, his voice muffled as he was able to catch her tea-like scent quite well.

"I can't help it! Kuro was in deed need of someone, you know?" the emerald-eyed woman blurted out cutely, her embrace growing tighter and her smile bigger as she nuzzled her cheek into smooth blond hair. "And it was about time! This household's third generation seems to be going well on its way to happiness."

Despite his beet red face, which felt like it had just come out of a kamado, and his slightly accelerating heart, his tone was calm and cool as always when he muttered, "I see… but I don't think you should create this many hopes to see or comrades becoming like… both of us, for example. It's not like **all** of them can–"

"Every generalization has its exceptions, Kubinashi. Waka may be one of them, but he had no choice when he became one. You know that as well as everybody in this Kumi." Kejourou interrupted firmly.

Just by her change of tone, the honey-eyed young man could understand he had better not go any further into that seemingly sore spot. With that in mind, he decided to just end the conversation after he said something that had been stuck in his throat for a while now, "Indeed. And that makes me wonder… if that lack of choice of his would affect him as deeply as it affected his father."

"Kubinashi...?" Kejourou looked down at the rather petite man's melancholic face as he buried himself into her, his skinny arms sneaking around her waist. "You mean...?"

"I just don't want to see that smile... be erased again."

~o0o~

She was spacing out again.

Wakana sighed as she snapped out of her trance, brought back to reality by the faint sound of hanabi exploding in the distance. She glanced down at the cup of maccha in her hands, which had already gone cold without her notice while she traveled in thoughts and memories – sad, disturbing memories of difficult times, when Japan was in desperate need of a better economy and the Nura-gumi and their allies were on the verge of doom. She remembered how her husband and father-in-law had done any and everything they could to keep the balance of their families, how she had tried her best to keep strong and smiley as always in front of her son, and, more importantly, how one single little girl had forever changed the future of the Kumi and its Sandaime.

No one other than the young Ienaga heiress.

As soon as the innocent girl's parents had found out she was a female when born, and knowing how difficult it could have been for her to marry a successfully wealthy man in that time of economic troubles, they had tried by all means to force a marriage on the one that seemed to be the best candidate: the Nura's second heir. With no success, they resorted to threatening to end up their alliance with the Nura-gumi, which was the worst that could ever happen. After all, to have any of the families breaking apart would ruin everyone as a whole. But still, no matter what, the Ienaga didn't seem to have wanted to hear any of it. And things didn't get any better when Kana's mother found herself unable to give birth to another child, so the possibilities of them being saved by a male heir were completely out of question, since her father had no intentions or even enough wealth to marry someone else, which only increased their arguments to make their daughter get engaged to someone like Nura Rikuo. And, after almost three months of fighting off negotiations and insistence, the Nidaime and the Soudaishou had to give up.

It had been hard for not only the Nura family, but the whole rest of the Nura-gumi to accept something as serious as an arranged marriage, which only weakened their bonds with the Ienaga household. Thankfully, to them, they had moved to England a few years after, uniting themselves with English families. And though usually an arranged engagement wouldn't be such a big deal in any sort of society, especially the noble ones, to the Nura-gumi, there was no way it could **not** be. At least, not after a rather tragic episode with the Nidaime and his first wife.

And all of that led to Wakana's biggest resentment – her son finding someone to love other than Ienaga Kana.

Now that the Ienaga were in England, breaking up their bonds with the Nura-gumi in case their agreement was not accomplished would take a long while. But, in compensation, if the Ienaga did break them for good, they wouldn't be so affected, now that they were allied to very powerful British Kumi. After all, Britain was a very rich country and had a terrifying ease to control other nations. As for Japan, it wouldn't be that difficult to have another period of hunger and crisis, and that family sure would be missed in case the Nura-gumi was affected again. In other words, Rikuo wouldn't have a choice if he wanted to keep everyone together and safe – it would be Kana or Kana. Except, of course, if he threw everything away to be with whomever else he could fall for, which, even being very reckless, was still an option. Although that only valid if the Kumi was in second plan to him, which certainly wasn't the case. And the worst part was that Wakana couldn't decide on which would be better – or, at least, less worse: having her son claim for his right to share his life with the one he wanted to, like his father and grandfather had done, or be reasonable and do the best to his cherished friends and subordinates. In any case, things would have been much better for her poor child if he had fallen for the Ienaga heiress.

The brunette sighed again, diving into more memories.

_It had already been an hour since Tsurara had left the kitchen, and the youthful mother couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad thing. Thinking it was about time to go check on her son and his faithful little aide, Wakana excused herself for a while, leaving the kitchen in Kejourou's trustful care._

_By the time she reached Rikuo's room, she found it rather strange to hear nothing coming from inside, even with the shouji slightly open. Not resisting the urge and so taking a little look inside, Wakana almost wanted to release some tears at the scene she found, which was much more than she could have ever expected. Not only could she spot the food she had entrusted Tsurara to give her master completely gone, but also a rather heart-warming moment of comfort between the two children. Had it not been such a bitter day, the mother would have smiled fully at it._

_Just by that, Wakana had known._

_Taking her leave as silently as she had arrived, she decided to leave the two alone for the time being. But, after the storm of sadness of the Nidaime's loss was gone, she would have to take place as an observer in the relationship Rikuo had with his closest servant. After all, the bond the two of them shared had just reached a new level – one that was definitely __**not**__ supposed to be ever reached. _

_Wakana had never approved the idea of an arranged marriage, just like her husband and father-in-law. But, also pretty much like them, she really did have hopes it would work out, so she had spent long praying the connection between the Nura and the Ienaga heir and heiress would become a romantic one. If that had happened, her son would never be hurt afterwards, since if he fell in love for his arranged fiancée, he would not be forced to marry her. But it seemed to be too late for that – what she had longed to never happen had become true, b__ecause, if her suspicions were correct, Rikuo's innocent young heart was already taken._

_And, if Rikuo was the same as his father and grandfather, Ienaga Kana would most likely have **no** chance with him anymore._

_The previous Nura heads were known to be extremely strong and successful men – two generations of pure glory until the present moment, even with Nura Rihan's death. But what people didn't notice most of the time was that, just like any human, they did have their own fragile and touchy spots, which were resumed into one thing – their family. The best examples of that would be when the first Nura wife's life came to an end at her advanced age and when the second one ran away from her husband for supposely not being able to bear a child. After then, the two first heads had experienced a long period of great sadness and loneliness, especially the first heir, who had kept blaming himself for his wife's getaway. If Rikuo had taken after them in that aspect, and he most likely had, he would be the same if he was not able to be with the one he loved._

_That was what Wakana feared the most._

_Back to the kitchen, the brunette had managed to ask Kejourou to take care of the rest, claiming she needed sleep. Understandingly, her servant and friend had complied, as if she had been waiting for her to say that all day long. More affected than she had thought she would be, the young mother had to practically drag herself to her room, not bothering to look tired and depressed, instead of full of life like she usually was, since there was almost no one at the corridors to see her in that state._

_At the rather strange comfort of the room that, the night before, had been the place she had found out there was no salvation for her husband, Wakana made her way to her new futon, already missing the one that had long caught the Nidaime's strong scent, which was unfortunately ruined by a fair amount of blood. Covering herself nearly completely, staring at the wooden ceiling, she wondered if she had spent all her tears already, since no matter how much she still wanted to cry, nothing would come out._

_All that was left was the sensation of her heart being ripped apart by everything that was happening far too fast._

The hanabi finally ceased, and the lack of the almost inaudible noises of the Kokehime Jinja made Wakana come back to the present yet again. She sighed deeply for the last time before giving up on her maccha, then threw it away through her shouji onto the garden's damp grass and some of her own hanabatake, magically managing to not spill anything onto her room's floor. Getting up from her sitting position on her knees, she was about to close the doors when she spotted something interesting from a little distance – a familiar figure hurrying to carry someone in their arms from near the Nura Sakura to inside the mansion, looking around frantically. Apparently, that was to check if they weren't being seen by anyone, but they still missed the current Nura mistress watching everything from her place.

A playful smile finally made its way to her lips as she was able to forget her worries for a moment, "Oh, my... is that...?"

~o0o~

_He didn't know when it had begun. He didn't know why it had begun. He didn't know how it had begun._

_All he knew was one thing – he was an idiot._

_He was considered a real genius by the ones that knew him, yet he could be so incredibly stupid some times it made him want to slap himself. After all, he had known her since forever, and yet, only now that he was thirteen that he could see how there was much more to his feelings towards her. Going back through his whole life, he could now see how she had always been much more faithful, admiring and dedicated to him even than to herself. He wasn't sure when, why or how she had developed those kinds of bonds with him, either, but they certainly weren't limited to her loyalty as his servant or companion, as well as his weren't limited to his trust and confidence as her master or friend. Rather, that bond had become more affectionate than any other he had ever had with anyone, even with his family._

_At first, when he started noticing the first hints of a certain attraction towards her, he had thought it was just a childhood crush. That made him believe he would just end up forgetting about it soon, once he was sure she only saw him as her master or younger brother. But, as the years flew by, he only found himself thinking more and more about her, from the time he opened his eyes to the one he closed them again, as if she was a dangerously addictive drug he had been trying his best to push away from his head. Sometimes, he would even become amused and startled with himself for not being able to get her off his mind for more than five minutes, even when she was right by his side. By then, he had raised her status, classifying her not as a crush, but someone he liked, which was also something that couldn't last forever. Yet, no matter how hard he attempted to convince himself it was nothing serious, another equally insistent part of him would say otherwise. And so, he was left to live with his inner conflict until he was finally able to take a definitive conclusion – he didn't like her._

_He loved her._

_Whether he had been genuinely indecisive about his feelings towards her or was just subconsciously trying to dispose the possibility of being in love with her because of his commitment with someone else, he couldn't decide, but that wasn't the issue. The thing was that, suddenly, everything about his trusted aide had become a serious, dangerous, confusing matter – it was more than he could have ever expected of life itself._

_And to think that only then he was realizing something that important._

_After then, time started running out surprisingly faster for him. For a few months, he had been struggling to think about a solution to the many problems a single girl had brought him all at once. Problems that would always remind him of something that both made him extremely happy yet incredibly sad at the same time._

_Their feelings for each other were mutual, yet they couldn't be together._

The white-haired Wakagashira dismissed his memories, staring straight at his best worker as she pursed her lips and looked away abruptly, cornered by him like a little animal. He couldn't help but feel satisfied of how he had left her no exit, patiently waiting for her reply for a timespan that, to him, was like forever. At that point, he didn't care about how needy of her he was after spending so long (in his opinion) away from that little trembling spot she was pressing so tightly together, nor did he care about how egoistical he was being for asking such a thing from her. Even because his fiancée was probably out there, looking for him as if her life depended on finding him. All he cared about in the world for the time being was the one before his eyes, nothing else. And all he wanted was nothing more than hear her answer – a positive answer. Still, in any case, even if it wasn't "yes", he doubted he would be able to let her get away with it.

_It was a rather chilly evening. The spring had just started, so the comfortable warmth said season usually brought wasn't there yet. Still, the cold wasn't enough to stop the flowers from starting blooming, though it was enough to make even someone like Oikawa Tsurara, who loved cold weathers, have to protect herself from the low temperatures and the risk of becoming ill. After all, she had just officially exchanged vows of loyalty with her respected master through Sakazuki. She couldn't bear to let something as trivial as a cold or a flu disturb her new job. It was with that in mind that she had decided to wear a light grey winter garment over her light pink kimono, which was stamped with beautifully detailed pink tsubaki._

_The Nura-gumi had certainly been in a good mood for partying that evening, using the Sandaime's newly-made Sakazuki pact with his officially-declared subordinates as an excuse to have a celebration. In the midst of the bubbly Nura members, who were happily drinking and almost hysterically laughing together at the Nura residence's main hall, Tsurara noticed that, even though the event was meant to congratulate the Wakagashira, he himself wasn't there. That, by the looks of it, had gone unnoticed by the rest. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about him, except, of course, for she and his mother, who kindly requested her to bring him back. Complying, the first place the aide went to look for him was obviously his favorite secret spot. Sure enough, there he was, carefreely leaning against the Sakura's rather comfortable trunk, his flower-stamped pink yukata (which he was miraculously able to make look __**manly**__ on him) looser around his figure than it should. As she saw him being so helplessly careless with himself, she walked over to him and, kneeling down, she proceeded to wake him up with the kindest of the gestures, brushing the back of her fingers ever so gently against his face._

_It had taken a little while, but, successfully, she was able to make him regain consciousness. Discreetly, his lips started curling upwards at the familiar contact, which he had recognized even before being fully awake. His servant's face soon began to heat up until it started to burn when his hand reached out to grab hers, pressing her open palm against his cheek slightly and nuzzling into it. "Sorry, Tsurara." He moaned lazily against her skin, his hot breath running through her fingers, "I'm awake now."_

_Sputtering, the aide tried getting him back to the mansion's main hall, yet her attempts did nothing but make him laugh softly. That only made her already strong blush become redder, as well as did the way he allowed himself to wrap his free arm around her tiny shoulders and pull her closer to him. As soon as she reached his hard chest, she immediately felt stupid for ever thinking there was any possibility of him becoming sick for being so exposed to the cold. After all, he was so warm she almost – __**almost**__ – felt overwhelmed to the point of falling asleep right then and there. Regardless of that, she still couldn't let him stay there, since, as a leader, he should be present at the celebration inside. Plus, if she was to stay like that with him any longer, she was sure her heart would explode, so she grudgingly tried fighting against the soothing comfort his body was offering. Needless to say, she had no success opposing to her master's difference in strength. And so, after a while of being paid no mind to, she decided to just lie there, controlling her inner reactions, which was working well. That was until she felt his spiky hair tickle her head as he leaned his own against it. For some reason, that gesture had made the aide conclude the Wakagashira seemed to be not sleepy, but down and depressed, and that his current state, by the looks of it, was the real reason why he was hiding from everyone._

_It was then that she could see something was off._

_As the Sandaime began to absent-mindedly run his fingers through her silky hair, she tilted her head upwards to try looking at him, frustrated to find his eyes still closed as she asked, "What's wrong, Rikuo-sama?"_

"_I'm..." he began slowly, his voice in monotone, "tired. That's all."_

_His answer was quite simple, yet instead of dismissing the aide's slight worries, it had only worsened them. After all, since when was being tired something wrong? There had to be a deeper meaning to his words. With that in mind, Tsurara once again broke the sound of cheering of the partying Nura-gumi with her high-pitched voice, "What do you mean?"_

_At her question, Rikuo finally opened his eyes, almost melancholically and like in slow motion, his usually bright and flashy ruby orbs dull and clouded as they stared aimlessly forward. "Well, when you're a leader, there are many things that can make you tired." he explained, the way he had started to sound hesitant going unnoticed by the aide. __"Most of them are quite bearable, though..."_

_Hearing that, the sapphire-eyed girl blinked twice in suspicion. Seeing her superior admitting he had difficulties with something, whatever it was, was far too rare. And, adding that to the fact he had been acting quite strangely around her for the past few months, Tsurara couldn't help but think things were more serious than she had thought. That made her regret never going further onto the subject for concluding that, whatever was the problem he seemed to be having, it was his personal stuff and that she shouldn't meddle._

_"'Most of them'? What would be the exception in that, Waka?" she kept urging slightly, moving from her position as soon as Rikuo's arm loosened a little, trying to look at him face-to-face._

_Once the two of them were in the same eye level, in a heartbeat, the shine was back to his mesmerizing burgundy eyes, and the blush back to her cheeks at the sight. "Let's just say I'm not very good at pretending." was what he gave her, and the curiosity started to rise even more._

"_What do you mean by 'pretending', Waka?" she asked, obviously not aware she had leaned a little too close and that her eyes had grown slightly wider with every question she made. Still, he knew there was no way she couldn't be feeling a bit affected by his responses. After all, she had known him her entire life, so being told he was not being himself at some point surely would have that effect on her. He expected nothing less, and yet, he was constantly catching himself trying to find a way to give her half-answers, so that she would notice he didn't want her to keep questioning. But it seemed what was happening was the contrary, and he was starting to feel cornered. It was then that the many months he had spent thinking deeply came back to him. He still had a whole year coming before __**she**__ was back. Maybe... maybe he could do it now. Maybe that night could be __**the**__ night. And he had __nothing__ to lose, did he?_

"_Yoshi..." He mentally decided, his palms suddenly becoming slightly sweaty, "it's now or never."_

"_I'm just... tired of pretending to be okay with something I'm obviously not." He let his head hang loosely as he stared down, an unsatisfied smile appearing on his lips, making the raven-haired girl frown, "I mean, isn't it really unfair? Jijii and Oyaji... they were able to choose who they would marry. Why... only I...?"_

_It was at the very moment the word "marry" escaped Rikuo's lips that Tsurara's breath caught in her throat, her eyes wider than ever. After her master had slowly fallen silent, she started to become eager with more interest and worry. "W-What... what does that even..." she sputtered out. "Rikuo-sama, are you saying you don't agree with your marriage with Ienaga-sama anymore?"_

"_Wrong, Tsurara." The aide had felt the slightest bits of disappointment together with a little relief at his negative answer, but those were short-lived as he continued, "I never agreed with that marriage to begin with."_

_The indigo-eyed one really didn't like the way that his statements kept surprising her, or how she constantly had to pause to take in the information, which would only make her ask more questions. But she really couldn't help it. "I... I don't understand... if Waka never wanted an arranged marriage, why haven't you ever said anything?" she asked, her indignant tone almost drowned in sadness and disbelief. Accepting something as serious and compromising as a life-long pact with someone was not something to be taken lightly. __He__ should have known that better than anyone. Besides, his arranged woman was crossing many countries in a very hard journey just to be with him. It would be too cruel to waste her efforts making both of them unhappy with an unwanted union._

_Rikuo sighed, already not liking things weren't going how he had wanted, "You forget I couldn't object, or the Ienaga would have left us."_

"_That doesn't mean you have to keep everything for yourself like this...!" he watched her blurt out, thinking she was going to have one of the cute – yet this time a bit out-of-contest –__ little__ jealousy fits towards Kana she used to have when she was younger. But when he examined her look better, he found nothing related to his arranged wife, only him. She was thinking of him and him alone – his future, his happiness, his position, his children, his Kumi, and everything else that could be affected by the decision he had made to stay silent all this time. "After so many years, maybe they could have changed their mind and engaged Ienaga-sama to someone else. I'm almost sure they only sent her back to fulfill their agreement. With so many other families allied to them in Britain, they could have perfectly engaged her to someone else. It would have been easier to them and to us. I bet that if you had said that to Nurarihyon-sama or Rihan-sama, they could have–"_

"_It's not only that, idiot." he cut in bluntly, scratching the back of his neck. "They wanted Kana-chan to marry me also because while they were in England, they didn't want to lose their connection with Japan. It would have to be me one way or another."_

_At the new piece of information, Tsurara fell silent, her eyes slightly drooping, "Is that so...?"_

"_Yeah." The white-haired heir gave off a bitter smile, and she had to control herself not to slap it out of his face, "And, when I got to know about that, I made a promise to myself. But__...__ I broke it."_

_With that, the snow white maiden could see they were back to where she had felt the conversation had reached its most important part, before it had been directed to another topic by herself. Tilting her head a little to the side, she was back to her normal state, but still being inwardly killed by the many questions she had as she asked calmly, "And that would be...?"_

_With his smile gone in an instant, he had become cool and serious, staring at her with an intensity she had never seen before. She had started to grow a little excited for his answer, while the cheering of the Kumi suddenly became louder as they came out of the main house and crossed the garden, passing by the Sakura. Thankfully, they were not able to spot the superior and his head aide. Meanwhile, the two watched for a brief moment as the Nura-gumi gathered together at the only spot of the huge garden that wasn't covered in grass, placing many sorts of boxes on the humid ground._

"_For myself and the Kumi..." Tsurara would have lost herself trying to figure out what they were trying to do, but her master caught her attention back with his words. "I... had long promised myself t never fall in love with anyone, if not with Kana-chan."_

_Both the movement of her azure pools shrinking and her heart stopping for a split second were synchronized. She almost choked with air this time, surprise catching her in a way nothing could and probably would never do. But that was only the expected and understandable of her part. After all, her master had just admitted he was in love with someone that not his own fiancée, and that alone brought up far too many serious matters. And,__ in the servant's opinion,__ the worst of all of said matters was that her master's life was now compromised because of someone he shouldn't have involved himself with. Of course, due to her dangerously strong feelings for him, a very childish and shameful part of her wished she was this person. At the same time, a cold and mean side would really like whoever that person was to just freeze in the lonely depths of a snowstorm, in case it wasn't her._

_However, if he was talking about her, she was sure she would hardly be able to bear such a weight, even if it would not be her fault he would be in love with her._

_Trying to get her act together again, Tsurara reluctantly turned her head to face the Sandaime, her eyes watering the slightest bits, but not visibly. She tried to take a small breath, mentally chanting the possibility of that person being she herself was small, so she wouldn't have to worry about such a thing. All that she would have to worry about was how she would have to stay firm to console her master. Because, as his personally chosen aide and confident, she was almost sure he was going to do what he always did when he became sad and couldn't handle it alone – opening himself to her, so that he would have all the support he could ask for. She had been there and done that some times before, and this one seemed to be no different, although it did seem that life was being cruel to her._

_But she knew very well that things didn't always go the way she would want them to._

_As she locked stares with him once again, she almost missed the quick flash of scarlet in his ruby eyes, and, for some reason, looking at him seemed to have become rather different at that moment in particular. If she had any hairs in her snow white skin, she was sure they would all have been up by then, for she could have sworn she was being completely exposed, as if she was being stripped naked just by that look – of course, not from her body, but from her very soul. "Well," she began, attempting to fake a smile, but failing because of her furrowed thin brows, which showed she was tenser and sadder than she would like to admit. "if it's possible, may I know who was it that caused Rikuo-sama to break this promise? Could it be... anyone I know?"_

_If it wasn't for the fact he was quite a bit nervous, which was definitely __**not**__ like him, he would have laughed at her tentative of masking her "dark" self, for he was sure she was obviously not expecting the answer he was going to give her. But said answer, which he was anxious to let out for good, was muffled by the cheering of the Nura-gumi yet again, which seemed to be rising. Suddenly annoyed, the Wakagashira decided to pull the girl even closer than she already was, her hands falling onto his chest as he gently held her head to be able to reach her ears. As he did so, with his hot breath contrasting the leaving winter's coldness against her reddening left ear, he __**at last**__ let out the three words that he had been holding back within his heart for quite long in the most fitting way – like a whisper carried away by the wind, a secret that should remain only between him and his most trusted person in the world, a bittersweet moment that was supposed to be hidden from the rest of the world._

"_I love you."_

_By then, hanabi suddenly started blowing up in the starry evening skies, matching with the magnitude of the head bodyguard's realization as her surroundings seemed to be slowly blurring. Without blinking, she took notice tears were starting to form in her eyes sooner than she had anticipated, and, fighting them off to be able to speak properly, she let out the only words she could think of, "J-Joke..." Her voice faltered, "this is a joke... right?"_

_It** had** to be a joke, she decided._

_If it was, her master was surely being quite mean to her, but she thought that would be much more bearable than it actually being the truth. After all, there was no way something like that could ever happen. There was no way that her best dreams yet worst nightmares could be being realized so abruptly, or that her peaceful life and inner world could turn upside-down just like that. That was what she had mentally been insisting on, until Rikuo confirmed his words the most amazing yet malicious way he could._

_Kissing._

_The voices of the Kumi's members mixed with the sounds of the explosions above as she was pulled to him once more, this time to meet his lips with her own. It was all happening so quickly she had become disoriented for a second. But, when she understood what he was going to do, it was already too late. From that point on, everything seemed to have become incredibly confusing. As her heart started to race quickly, the reality she once knew seemed to have gained a new meaning, a new perspective, and a new sense. Unfortunately, she couldn't say those meant anything good at all, for she had just found out she was the reason of her master's suffering._

_And so, in the midst of overflowing happiness, was also born unbearable sadness._

_She didn't know if he was either as inexperienced as her in kissing, for that had been the first time for both, or was just taking easy on her not to startle her off, but he had been quite gentle, not taking long to let her go. And it was when they were fully facing each other again that she had started to break from the inside out. But, no matter how shattered she was, she decided she would not worry her master or hurt him by showing what he had done with the best intentions had been one of his worst mistakes. And so, without any warning, she rose to her feet, speeding up to the empty main hall's open entrance as fast as her kimono allowed her legs to walk, leaving the puzzled Rikuo behind._

_For a second, he was frozen in place as he stared at the spot she had been kneeling on, but the next, he was up and about, shouting her name as high as he could. But he was still not able to beat the excessive noise of the rest of his subordinates, who thankfully were oblivious about what was happening some meters behind them. Frustrated, Rikuo almost tripped all the way to his aide, but could approach her before she had entered the mansion. Careful not to hurt her and quickly not to miss her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back, forcing her to face him. The moment he was going to ask her what was wrong, his mouth stopped without anything coming out, his eyes growing wide as they registered the scene before them._

_She was crying._

_As her chin trembled slightly, cold tears spilled from her glassy azure eyes, which were full of many emotions that even the one that knew her the best couldn't decipher. It didn't take any more than that for him to let her go slowly, allowing her resume her tracks to her room and whispering her name to himself in utter confusion. He stood in that position for a while, his once warm hand still cold from grasping the girl's wrist, appalled with what had just happened._

_With the decision the raven-haired one needed some time alone and the impotence of not knowing how to deal with feminine tears, he started walking away back to his own lonely place, looking behind his shoulder almost all the time, obviously still in hopes that she would return. But said hopes were totally gone after he reached his shouji with no signs of her. Sighing in disappointment, he slowly closed the doors before collapsing into his futon with no means of falling asleep at all._

_He was left with nothing but to wonder what could have possibly happened that had made his servant so hurt, angry and Kami knows what else she was feeling at the moment, almost irritated with himself for being so clueless. After all, he had known about her undying love for him for quite a while. There was no mistaking about what she felt towards him – even the blind could see it. And that only made him feel even more stupid, since he had thought she would have been more than joyful to find out he was just the same as her, but things had turned out to be the opposite._

_The Sandaime scratched his spiky white bangs as he stared at his wooden ceiling, incapable of getting the image of his protective bodyguard's crying face of his head as he let out one last, exasperated whisper, "Tsurara..."_

Pursing her lips tightly, Tsurara suddenly looked down, pressing her back even more against the not fully-bloomed tree, so that she could be the farthest possible from her master, even though that distance was mere three inches – and, of course, if she didn't do anything, it would soon be reduced to nothing. But, while she mentally searched words to back the white-haired young man up, a battle was being set against her very own self as she tried her hardest not to let tempting sensations, unwittingly brought back to her in the many memories registering in her mind with incredible speed, lead her to the wrong way.

_The white-haired heir took a deep breath before reluctant and hesitantly sliding the shouji doors of his head aide's room open very silent, slowly and patiently, despite his slight worries and nervousness, careful not to wake the owner of the room he was entering without authorization. However, he certainly hadn't expected to find out she was still awake in the dead of night, completely covered in her thick white blankets as she attempted to hide her face from him while "humbly" requesting him to leave. It was then that he could notice how her voice (even though muffled) was sounding a little hoarse, which gave away she had been crying for quite long._

_Feeling guiltier than he had ever been in his life, he had tried getting her out and talking to her, apologizing a hundred times for not thinking straight before sexually harassing her and for disturbing her at around five in the morning, for he had been unable to sleep or contain his need to check if she was alright. __As she kept sending him off, which only influenced him to insist and worry more (due to how unusual it was of her to reject his presence), he began to tug her covers to try taking a look at her face, since he couldn't help but want to see what effects his rather indecent actions had on her other than making her cry her eyes out, "Come on, Tsurara... at least tell me what's wrong." She had still been stubborn enough to stay silent as she refused to come out of her futon, until Rikuo used a word he would rarely remember that existed, "Please...?"_

_By then, she caught herself giving his request some thought, since he was going as far as asking nicely instead of ordering as he usually did. With a sigh of defeat, knowing he wouldn't be going away any time soon, she mumbled, "There are many things going very wrong right now, Rikuo-sama, and I don't think I need to point them out."_

"_Are you..." he began hesitantly, breaking the uncomfortable silence after a while of pause. "really this resentful about... 'that'...?"_

_It had taken her a moment to respond, and, when he was about to call her, he heard her muffled voice again, "Yes... and no." Blinking a few times, he was going to ask for clarification, but she seemed to already know he would do so as she continued, "Rikuo-sama, I believe you know very well about my feelings, since I've never bothered hiding anything." at the straight ball, he immediately shut up to listen to everything she was going to say with no more interruptions. "I also think you know that I cherish my job as your servant more than my own life, and that everything I've ever dreamt of was to continue serving you for the rest of it. That's why... that's why, right now, everything is taking a completely different path from what I could ever imagine, and it all seems really confusing and strange to me. Scary, even." Her breath began to waver slightly as she felt the tears that had taken her so long to dry dwelling on the corners of her eyes yet again, "I... I don't know what to think anymore. I don't even know what I know anymore. Except... except that I've become a burden." he was about to negate her stupid statement, but decided to just let her finish everything. "I'm blocking Waka's way to a successful future by becoming the cause of Waka's suffering. And of course all of that makes me really, really upset. But, still... no matter how sad I am right now..." She stroked her eyes constant and impatiently with both hands, feeling utterly disgusted with her own self as her upwardly-curling lips inevitably rubbed against her wrists, "I just can't stop smiling."_

_She didn't go into details, like how incredibly ridiculous and miserable she was feeling for the smug happiness inside her or how her respectful and honorable side still wished everything was just a prank, as mean as it could be. But the Wakagashira could perfectly see everything and refused to acknowledge it, since, to him, there was no real reason for her to be in that state. And at her long and honest speech, he couldn't hide the shock most of what he had just heard caused him as he stayed silent for a while, trying to organize his ideas to give her a response. After all, the fact his hardworking young aide didn't regret what had happened had him relieved and satisfied, at which he couldn't __**not**__ smile, but the rest of her confessions surely required a frown and a counter-argument of the same level. __"Tsurara..." he called softly, patting her covered head gently. "you're such an idiot."_

"_Wah?!" she fidgeted within her blankets, the disbelief of the offense she obviously wasn't expecting having her taken aback. "Wh-What was that for? Waka doesn't... Waka doesn't understand anything after all! Stupid Waka!"_

_He almost wanted to laugh at her comical recover as he continued, "You're right. I don't understand anything you're feeling right now. You're blaming yourself like the world is going to end for something you're not at fault for. If anyone is to blame for whatever might happen between me and Kana-chan, that..." He paused for a sigh, "would be me."_

"_For falling in love with the wrong person? I don't think that's very–"_

"_Don't say '__**wrong**__ person', idiot." he cut in kindly. "And don't speak like you've ruined my life."_

"_B-But... if I didn't exist in Rikuo-sama's life, probably–"_

"_Oh, no. You can't be seriously thinking I'd fall for Kana-chan and everything from then onwards would be all flowers and sunshine." he interrupted again, already annoyed at the idea of picturing his life without his most loyal servant by his side. "First of all, if you didn't exist, I wouldn't either."_

"_E-Eh...?"_

"_What I mean is that, if Tsurara didn't exist, I would probably... most likely... no, **surely** not be the Nura Rikuo you know. At least, not without you." He could already picture her rosy face as she flinched slightly, "Tsurara has always been with me, so you're a big part of what I am."_

"_I... I see..." she muttered understandingly, knowing exactly what he was trying to say. After all, her life resumed itself to him. If he didn't exist, she pretty much wouldn't, either._

_A moment of awkward silence followed again._

"_Say..." he asked slowly, breaking the calmness of the night after a while one more time. "is being in love with me... really that painful?"_

"_Not at all." she answered immediately, a smile reappearing on her lips. "It actually makes everything seem much brighter for me."_

_A little taken aback with the fast answer, Rikuo blinked a few times, before letting a smile approach his lips._ "_Then you can see it's the same here." he said honest and truthfully, no hints of uncertainty in his tone. "I love you, and I don't regret anything about that." __At his words, the poor girl could swear her heart was going to jump out of her throat any second while swallowing hard constantly, as if to back it down._

_She understood he had nothing else to say as he seemed to get up and turn around, rapidly debating on whatever to do next, until she came up with a drastic conclusion: no matter what the two of them felt towards each other, it was the right thing that had to be done. She would not melt down. She would not give up. She would not let everything go wrong._

_At least, not because of her._

"_Please, wait...!" as he slid the shouji open again, he was about to take his leave for good when the feeling of cold slender fingers wrapping around one of his wrists had his head turning around instantly to face the watery-eyed girl that had finally come out of her "hiding place". When his surprised eyes locked with her determined ones, he could tell they were not only wet, but slightly swollen and red, much like her cheeks and nose, yet he couldn't care less about it. All he wanted was to hear what she was about to say as she opened her trembling mouth, __"If that's... if that's Waka's final decision, you'd better not count with my cooperation! I shall oppose myself to it!" She spoke, surprisingly seriously, regardless of the knot in her throat and the sobs she was fighting, her grip on him firm, "No matter what, I will accomplish my job as Waka's head aide and bodyguard and make sure Waka is married to Ienaga Kana-sama by the promised time!"_

_Frozen, Rikuo could do nothing but stare at his servant for a while. In her teary sapphire pools, he could see every single word she had mustered all her strength to say had been like a sharp stab right through her heart, but even so, she was really certain about what she had just done. For the sake of the one she cherished the most, she was swearing she would be willing to hand him over to someone else, no matter how painful it would be for her to see him building a life with another woman – at least, not if said woman could give him a better future than she herself would ever be able to. He could also perceive she also had no intentions in changing anything in the master-servant relationship they had, for she would never give up the lifework she had been entrusted with – her superior himself. And that was an affirmation that, thankfully, she would never retire or walk away from him._

_He had never thought her feelings for him would ever become that passionate, since they had already seemed to have been really strong. But she was able to catch him undefended, like she had done many times before. Each and every one of them, she had proved to be much more loyal and zealous towards him than the last one. But this time had no way to be compared with anything he had ever seen her do for him – she was being mature and caring enough to endure the burden of having to push his feelings for her away and, if necessary, make sure he was united with his arranged betrothed herself. With all of that, he was left with nothing but find himself a real idiot, but he still couldn't help but smile genuinely at her._

_He had underestimated her too much._

_Reaching out his hand, he slid the long fingers of his free hand through the back of her neck, just like he had done the moment he had pulled her into a quick first kiss a few hours before. Foreseeing he was going to bend down a little, Tsurara covered her mouth with both hands as she let go of his wrist, not knowing that he was aiming for her forehead instead. While he placed a long kiss on the top of her head, she felt free to let her hands down, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt her cheeks heat up. Once his lips were no longer being pressed against her, she opened her eyes and found herself face-to-face with the man of her affections, his warm and determined expression mirroring the one she had a while before._

"_Challenge accepted."_

_And with that said, the servant understood that they were indirectly setting a competition against each other, in which there wouldn't be a loser and a winner, only two lovers fighting for what they thought that was the best choice for the not-very-far-away future._

What shocked her back to reality rather comfortably were Rikuo's warm and broad hands. When she raised her head, she was more than surprised to see her personal space was gone sooner than she had expected. Either that or she had been swimming through thoughts for longer than it seemed. He gently urged for her answer, the comfy warmth of his breath and hands bathing her face as they contrasted the cold night breeze, much like it had happened on the evening that had forever changed everything between the two of them.

_He could feel her face growing hotter as their noses almost touched._

_One of the many things Tsurara really admired in her master was his honesty (or maybe the same inability she herself had to lie). But, sometimes, she wished he wasn't so compromised with fulfilling his word, because that, on the other hand, made it way harder for her to fulfill her own._

_It had already been seven months after their night of exchanged promises, and, in that span of time, the two had been involved in many sorts of situations like the one in which they had first kissed. In said situations, the Wakagashira would do exactly as he had said and proceed to make his poor aide push her limits as she tried her best to avoid him, yet continue to be as close as always to him. And, of course, also during that time, the two of them had to pretend nothing had been changed at all between them. S__urprisingly,__ they seemed to have had succeeded at that better than they had thought._

_While their real relationship was hidden within the shadows of the former commander-commanded one, the faithful servant would spend most of the time trying to run away from the Sandaime's embraces, caresses and whispers. But those were becoming more and more usual as the days passed. And no matter how much she tried, he would always magically find a way to catch her off-guard. Thankfully, he had never again tried to kiss her, for he had learned from his last experience that kind of compromising act had a huge impact on both of them. Of course that still didn't mean he didn't want to do it again, but__ he had been able to hold back his desires quite well._

_Until his birthday._

_The moment she absently let herself lean against him, their hands tightly laced and breaths against each other's faces, he didn't care about anything anymore. Seeing she was being quite passive – maybe because she had missed being that close to him as much as he had – also influenced him to take the liberty to pull the strings of their relationship, and, this time, he wasn't letting her escape. And so, in a moment, the two of them were sitting on the wooden floor of his room, holding hands in a couple-like style after opening his birthday presents, and in the following one, he was using his weight to make her fall back-first onto his fluffy futon, her head successfully landing in his pillow. Taking her weak shielding and arguments as a good chance, he advanced into her gently and, soon enough, the two of them were completely lost in each other._

_It was needless to say that time had been much better than the last one, not only because they were totally inexperienced the first time, but because there had been actual response from the servant's part the second one, not to mention it lasted much longer. It was only then that he was able to feel how soft she was and how sweet she tasted as he found out that, despite having a strangely cold skin, she was quite warm on the inside. He felt himself smile against her lips at her useless attempts of speaking or pushing him back with her legs and arms, which stopped after a while. From that point on, the two were left to blend together beyond the limits of their bonds, only stopping when there was no signs of air left in their lungs._

_Slowly, quietly, and perfectly._

She opened her mouth, but it took longer than she would have liked to admit for words to actually come out, "Waka, I... I must humbly declin–" When he disappointedly saw she was going to turn him down, as he had anticipated, he didn't think twice before catching her off-guard, which was very easy, since she had her mouth half-open in mid-sentence and eyes down yet again to hide her embarrassment (though everything else in her gave it away).

_After Rikuo's fourteenth birthday, their relationship had reached a new level one more time. As he was able to find out she had also become as needy and longing as him within the passing months they had spent as "rivals", even though she was still able to fight him back most of the time. That was the biggest reason why he had decided he would hold back no more. He wouldn't bother contenting himself only with the opportunities he had of having her in his arms, murmur sweet nothings to her ears, or make her stay alone with him in his room for long periods of time. Instead, he would try using her weakness against her as many times he could by doing the only thing that could make her defenses falter._

_Kissing._

_Any sort of distraction was enough. Whenever she entered his room, his mind would drift away from whatever he would be doing to plot a way of catching her without prevention, not economizing the many advantages he had against her, like how he was bigger and stronger or how she couldn't make any noises of protest, or else someone could hear them through the thin screen of the shouji doors. __And, when he wasn't able to score a kiss from her, he would do the usual teasing, which had been increasing, but not to the point of becoming indecent (or, at least, not more than it already was). An instance of that could be that, whenever the aide was in the presence of his clotheless figure for any reason, he would just limit himself to fusillade her red and flinching form with his eyes. _Most of the times, she would push him off, but he noticed how he was able to be the winner of their quick battles more than before, so his conclusion was that that could be his best way to the final victory, which meant he would stop for nothing anymore.

_Not even when his fiancée arrived._

_On the contrary: now that Ienaga Kana was there, his assaults had become more often and audacious. A good example of that would be when he had met her again for the first time after so long. Before he had come out of his room, when his aide was helping him dress himself faster, he had used the excuse of leaning his forehead against hers to check if she had a fever to plant a small peck on her lips right in front of his arranged woman, to which he really did feel bad about, but it was nothing compared to the contrasting victorious satisfaction. A little after that, when he was walking the ladies to the main hall, where a party was waiting for them, the indigo-eyed servant had clung to his arm for a while, her embarrassment almost perfectly masked as she silently told him what he had done had been a dirty move, to which he had laughed a little, despite it being true. And another example would be the following morning, when, right after she did him the great favor of feeding him while he worked, she asked him if the taste of her cooking had been good enough. The face she had made when he pulled her into a surprise French kiss for the first time and shot her own question back had been priceless._

And with one swift yet almost graceful movement, their lips met once again.

~o0o~

BEHOLD! I, THE SUCKISH DENNOU WRITER, SHALL FILL THE END OF THIS CHAPTER WITH A VERY LAME AUTHOR NOTE FOR YOU, MY LOVELY READERS, AND ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND KINDNESS WITH THIS STORY! THANKS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, I WAS ABLE TO REACH AN OBJECTIVE I FIRST THOUGHT TO BE IMPOSSIBLE WHEN I STARTED POSTING THIS STORY: +100 REVIEWS IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER! I FREAKING LOVE YOU PEOPLE!

Now that I'm back to being sane, you must be wondering why having +100 reviews for this story is such a big deal to me if I already have another story with 125 reviews in the fourth chapter. Well, that is because, as you all must be aware, we have merely about 500 stories altogether for NuraMago in this site, and, as for the number of RikuTsura stories, we only have around 150. This is sad. Really, really sad. And, adding that to the fact NuraMago is ending soon, the fans are probably starting to get over it and finding other fandoms... anyways, with this, what I'm trying to say is that there are very little RikuTsura writers in this site, which makes people assume there are very little number of readers as well, as I had already mentioned before. That's why, from the very beginning, I was utterly surprised with all the attention my story has been getting. Like, even though I have very little faves and follows, there's a total of nearly 4,000 views and many awesome reviewers. Plus, you guys have been telling me I'm very professional and the best RikuTsura writer of this site. Some even asked me if I'm an actual writer, and that has been inflating my ego a lot.

For all of that, I'm thanking you guys. You deserve infinite cookies, yet all I can give you is this lame chapter! So, I hope you enjoy it till the very end! Until then, I promise to work hard!

Shall we go on?

Well here are the remarks:

1) Hahahaha, I couldn't believe how many of you thought there was the slightest possibility of Rikuo and Tsurara **not** kissing in this chapter. All of the reviewers that mentioned that asked me to make them kiss. No one ever said they shouldn't, which I was already expecting. And, for all the innocent ones that thought that was going to be their first: lol, I hope you liked the real thing, even though it was just a bit... okay, REALLY suckish.

2) Yeah, so, once again, we'll have the "why I ship this pairing" thingy – this time, for my JirouxKana and KubinashixKejourou OTPs. I ship them because of two reasons: the first is that I see no one better for them to end up with. I mean, I ship Rikuo with Tsurara, Natsumi with Kuro, Saori with Kiyo, and Yura with Mamiru, so Jirou and Kana would be the remaining forever alones. The second is that I think they would look kinda cute together. I mean, the two of them are sort of bubbly and jealous – to me, it would be funny to see them act like that around each other.

As for KubiKejou… well, I don't really need to make this a big explanation like the others, right? I mean, many people ship Kubinashi with Rihan and Tsurara, but, **damn**, I just can't see why. Because, man, Kubinashi and Kejourou are so BAMF together and they are so kind with each other… they only have a few romantic moments, but when it happens, I can't help but go all "KYAH~!", and I'm not even the type to squeal. They rock – that's all I have to say.

3) AND, FINALLY, HERE'S THE EXPLANATION FOR THE OOC RIKUO! For those that couldn't yet tell, Rikuo was a bit closer to Tsurara than he should and their closure seemed to be a little more romantic in my story, and that was because even before the story started, a romantic bond was already created between them. That's why he's kind of lovey-dovey with her, much like Nurarihyon was with Youhime or Rihan was with Yamabuki – well, at least, I think he would act like that if he was in admitted and explicit love with someone, if you understand what I mean. Oh, **AT LAST**, I can take that weight off my shoulders! Wah~!

4) Okay, so I fantasized a little with Jirou up there. We all know he's not the type to get angry and defy big guys in NuraMago, BUT, he's a grown-up in this story (kinda). I think he does have the capacity to mature at least a little bit, don't you? Besides, if he hadn't, making him end up with Kana would be the same as saying that all she deserves is the immature little brat Jirou is proved to be in the original storyline. And I kinda pity Jirou for being so left-off... I hope he finds someone in the manga, even if it's not Kana.

5) ARGH, I HATED SO MUCH WRITING ABOUT AN ANGSTY WAKANA! But still, it was quite necessary. Sowwy, Wakana~!

6) Many of you guys must be thinking the part with Kubinashi and Kejourou was pretty useless, but it was meant for two things: to show they are together and that most of the Nura household is aware Rikuo isn't in love with Kana nor do they approve their union, but only the closest servants to him suspect he and Tsurara have a romantic thing for each other.

7) Many of you must also be thinking I was exaggerating when I described a kiss as sexual harassment. But remember, this is set in long times ago~!

8) I have the feeling I must apologize to you, because I'm certain that you were waiting for the kissing scene to happen in this chapter, but, due to the other shipping tease and the many long flashbacks I had to put here, it didn't happen just yet. I also feel like I've trolled you by putting the essential part of the chapter by the end of it. I just thought it would be a good cliffhanger, though I know you guys aren't cliffhanger fans. Still, I'm glad I was able to overload this chapter with RikuTsura, just like I had promised. And, don't worry, because next chapter, I'll do my hardest to make the best kissing scene I've ever wrote! Thank you **so** much for your patience and comprehension!

9) I also believe I must apologize (especially to Kuro-san, who has probably been checking on this story every day again) for taking longer to update this chapter than the others, but I had been really busy. I've been having many school projects, and one of them includes the yearly school plays. Since I've been in charge of the fictile, I believe you can guess I've had a ton of work. But it was worth it, since everything turned out to go okay. Other than that, I took long because this chapter really did demand more dedication than the previous ones, just like the next one is going to demand more of this. Still, I'm glad I was able to make it in time to Rikuo's birthday (at least, where I am right now is still September 13th). I feel like this has been my present for him. *evil chibi laugh*

10) And, finally, apologize if their first and second kisses sucked. That was because, well... first experiences always suck. And, even though this is fictional, they are humans, so I think I must make them a little more realistic.

11) I'VE EXAGGERATED A LOT IN THE ROMANCE OF THIS CHAPTER AGAIN, DIDN'T I?! I NEVER LEARN! WHAT DOES RIKUTSURA EVEN DO TO ME, OMG?!

Now, replies to the anons (And, is it just me or there are less anons than before? Please, don't abandon me, anons!):

Yuki Onna: Thank you! Well, here I am again! I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Guest: I hope you have loved this one as well!

Nadilicious: Yup! They had! Aw, thank you! You flatter me~!

Kuro: Of course you can. And, no, why would you ever bore me?!

Lol.

You mean the "reply"? You're very welcome! Your reviews were usually very curt, but, that one I had to reply to!

Awn, thank you very much –dattebane~! (Kushina-san, I was wondering if I could do the same…)

Thanks again. I'm glad it was worth the wait.

Ara, you think it feels better to read a RikuTsura story on Kana's POV? I wonder why… maybe it's because she's slowly realizing she isn't worthy of Rikuo.

Ahaha, wow! It's been a surprise how many of the readers here also support those pairings. I'm also thinking about adding some ItaRei, RiWaka and RiYama, but I don't know how (I was able to add KubiKino, though!). I need a freaking flashback for Rihan and a way to put Itaku and Reira in this story! Ideas, please!

Whoa, you seem like you've become obsessed with my story or something! Lol.

Oh, snap! You figured out about the ShimaxKana stuff! But I bet you have no idea of how they'll become a couple!

I know you don't hate my descriptions. I don't really get what you meant, but, I still can't go on with your proposal. You know there are rules to split a paragraph, right? I can't just randomly split them all…

Good. Why, you think English is hard? It's quite a bit practical to me… but then again, my first language is one of the world's hardest ones. What's yours?

You don't have to be an author to make an account! There are many users who are just readers! You could still make one, so we would be able to talk to each other without having to depend on reviews and replies~!

Of course you can! Anyone can be a good writer with dedication!

Okay, so, I thereby declare formed the Kuro Kazoku! *throws confetti* Beware the Kuro siblings, bitches! *puts on flashy sunglasses*

Thank you (how many times have I thanked you already?!)!

I'm glad you understand! And, whoa, that's tough on you! No wonder you just stated your sanity is in a very low level. I would have gone mad if I was in your shoes! Respect! *HEIL KURO-SAN*

I'll continue doing my best for you guys!

I know~! *smirks back*

Whoa, this must have been the longest reply I've ever wrote (almost an entire page for ya)! Be proud, will you?! XD

Guest (2): You again? Thanks for reviewing twice, even though you didn't have to, and congrats for being reviewer number 100, even though it's not really a big deal!

chevette: Own, thank you!

Well, I believe I've been writing for two years in this site. But, in case you're asking overall, I've been writing ever since I learned how to do it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold your horses! I'm still only 16. Writing a book is not really in my priorities list yet. Right now, I only worry about studying and having fun – and for that, I do things like writing fics. But, after I grow up, maybe I can become a successful writer! It's a distant dream, but writing is one of the stuff I want to do for a living. The others would be either designing or illustrating (maybe both)~! But now you really got me wondering what in my works make me seem like I could be a professional…

eucliwoodscythe: Thank you! And I hope you liked the moment, hehehe.

I hope I haven't forgotten anyone until now! And, man, I feel like my author notes only get bigger as I update! Is that good or bad?

Anyways, thanks for reading! And reviews are always as welcome as they are helpful!

Can I call you Yuu-chan? *-*

n-chan: Your review was also amazing!

"Lemon"?! I don't think I'm one for that style at all... sorry.


	6. Festivity III

It was becoming really hard to contain himself. After one whole day trying to redeem his actions by restraining his desires towards the young woman that had been subconsciously carving her way far too deep into his heart ever since babyhood, Rikuo had been sure he would have problems with his self-control later on. But not as many as he was actually having, even because he was doing the best he could to grasp firmly onto the little rationality that still remained intact within his inner hurricane of emotions. By the time his lips reached hers, he knew he was going to face difficulties to taking easy on her, while the pain of his injuries seemed to be slowly disappearing, despite the fact they had nearly been reopened by Yura some hours before.

The protests were the usual – Tsurara tried to argue against the (hundredth) assault, but her speech was obviously muffled by him; then she tried pushing him off, but the difference of strength and weight had her frustrated again; and finally, she tried to sneak away, but her predicable escape was prevented. Eventually, she gave up, deciding she would just have to wait until her master's guard lowered, so she would find an opening. The problem was that she was also on the verge of losing herself – but obviously in a much smaller proportion than her master – so she would have to keep policing herself to stay conscious, as hard as it could be. Unfortunately for her, the Wakagashira seemed to have noticed how she still planned to fight back as she felt him smile against her, which she interpreted as a sign he was going to prevent her from breaking apart a second too late, and, soon enough, one of his arms was sneaking its way around her waist to pull her closer. At the feeling of being pressed against his front once again, the raven-haired girl immediately placed her hands on his shoulders to make him back up, so that he wouldn't hurt himself even more. Whether he thought she was already trying to run off or was simply enjoying the contact with her too much to let go, she couldn't decide, but had high suspicions it could be both as he responded by tightening his embrace and his other hand rose to ruin her perfect hairdo. The high bun and braids she had taken almost half-an-hour to make were completely dismounted, causing her silky raven hair to cascade smoothly through the Sandaime's long fingers like liquid ink. She almost panicked at how she would probably look very suspicious with her hair down, since the hairdo she had been wearing seconds before would never fall down easily and would be hardly undone without handwork, trying to protest against her master's rather excessive kindness. Sadly, she was ignored until there was no way to fix everything back to what it had been, yet thankfully, her hair didn't seem to ever be able to become messy.

After a couple of seconds, despite being annoyed the efforts she had spent on her hair had now become in vain and being afraid her future mistress would be able to put two and two together after seeing her in that state, to her, everything seemed to be surprisingly and slowly becoming secondary. Realizing she was starting to involuntarily replace all of her thoughts for the young man she had vowed to protect with her life, a part of her kept chanting words of support and encouragement for her to stay conscious and still, reminding her of her duty as his protector. Unfortunately, on the other hand, there was also a silent and unworthy party doing nothing but fighting back against what she considered her "good" self, trying to summon all the possible temptations from her memories to use as weapons. And, of course, although she had already experienced that kind of situation many times before, she still inwardly cursed her lack of will to obey her respectable conscience and the fact she hadn't yet found a way of preventing herself from melting bit by bit, until nothing else in the world mattered to her. Little did she know the same happened to the one of her affections, only in a faster pace. And said pace only seemed to be getting even faster as the heir found himself wanting to go deeper into her, mentally cursing himself for ever considering, even for mere two seconds, the possibility of forcing her to grant him entrance when she hesitated. Nevertheless, she had been kind enough to realize his wish, but he was sure he could have enjoyed her essence much better if he wasn't running out of air so quickly – courtesy of the state he was. And so, the kiss started to slow down to an earlier end that he had wanted as he reluctantly started to break their connection, but not before pushing himself as much as he could to handle it a little more, playing, stroking and exploring her as much as he could. As for his aide, he was certain that since she wasn't in the same condition as him, she could have endured it for a much longer period, but as soon as she felt him back up the slightest, she regained her senses.

And the moment was gone for good.

Only after they had separated a bit that she noticed she had been on the tip of her zouri and with her arms around him without need as the two of them found themselves panting against each other's faces. After a while, she felt herself being pulled into his embrace yet again, but this time, it was a much lighter one. With her eyes still closed, she assumed her commander had done that to allow both of them to have space to breathe properly without letting her slip away. While he supported his rather heavy head on the base of her delicate white neck, she didn't even suspect he was more than pleased to be able to catch her addicting flowery scent, blushing madly as she could feel his thick breath tickling all the way down through the almost nonexistent space between her skin and her nagajuban, despite the fact she was wearing a scarf.

As the two of them were literally being hammered by each other's heartbeats, Rikuo finally started to perceive he had been pressing his servant a little too hard against his wounded torso. Now, although she hadn't been hurt at all, he was going to have to bear with the irritatingly acute pain of his injuries coming back fully and all at once. For that reason, it wasn't long before he started to feel dizzy and his vision began to slowly blurry, his well-built body becoming hard to maintain balanced.

"W-Waka...?!" Tsurara, finally snapping out of it as she felt her master on the verge of falling down, turned around to let him have a better support to his weight and lean against the Sakura her back had been facing. "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

All he could to was nod feebly as he slowly slid down against the tree until his bottom reached the ground. She knelt down beside him and kept asking him what exactly he was feeling. Patting her head dismissively, he apologized for being reckless and worrying her, knowing she would be feeling guilty for not stopping him and so letting him worsen his already serious situation.

"Here, Rikuo-sama." She sighed as she understood his actions, pulling out of her little purse a small ceramic canteen, "I brought the medicine Zen-sama made for you."

Remembering what he had been told about the natural anesthetic, the white-haired young man shakily took it and held his breath to drink the sour liquid after thanking his bodyguard for always being so careful, earning both a blush and a frown. In two or three huge gulps, he took down more than the instructions the Nura-gumi's best medic had given allowed him to, but he couldn't care less about it – all he wanted was for the pain to be gone quickly. And, after it actually was, he did cogitate the possibility of going for one more kiss, but feared the horrible taste of the medicinal herbs would ruin his aide's own sweet one, so he just pulled her to his side, deciding that having her close would be good enough. As he received a kiss on the forehead and a weak scold ("stupid Rikuo-sama"), he couldn't help but smile despite his rather miserable condition. It was only then he took notice of how things seemed to be growing quiet as the hanabi ceased and the number of people at the Jinja began to diminish due to the late hours. That was also a reminder they would have to go looking for Kana and Jirou soon, but decided to stay there a little more while they still could.

For the time being, the two would just enjoy each other's presence in comfortable silence.

~o0o~

"Shima-kuuun~" a very happy-go-lucky brunette purred slightly at one of her oldest friends, not only sounding but also acting much more childish than she usually did, a lazy (and somehow sly) smile clear on her lips, "kiss meee~!"

"W-W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU..." said soccer addict sputtered louder than he should have, minding his voice as he remembered the two of them were supposed to stay as silent as possible, "What are you saying, Ienaga-san?!" he asked in lower tone, his face literally on fire. "A-Are you already drunk?"

A frown immediately appeared between her thin eyebrows as she pouted, "Hmph, how rude of you. I'm serious here~!" then her silly smile crept to her rosy face again. "Kiss me~!"

"W-W-Wai...!" he tried to take a step behind, but all that did was to remind him he had no place to escape as his back hit a cold wall. In the little timespan he had looked behind his shoulder and turned his head back, Kana was already a mere inch away from his face, her thin arms sneaking around his neck as she giggled slightly and gleefully. "I-Ienaga-san?!"

"Mou, stop with these formalities already~!" her playful tone had a little bit of whining in it, "Just call me 'Kana'~!"

"Gyuh...!" he groaned nervously, sweat-dropping as the faint smell of Sake coming from her breath reached his nose. Oh, the Sake. If it wasn't for that, he wouldn't be in this extremely awkward moment with his now drunk companion.

About fifteen minutes before, the two of them had been walking for too long without finding any signs of either the Nuragumi's Sandaime or his personal aide, and Kana had been feeling thirsty for a while then. As she requested, they stopped by a booth of various drinks to have some water, and it was then that everything started going wrong. The one in charge of the place accidentally mistook water for Sake and gave them the wrong bamboo bottles. Jirou had been lucky enough to be able to smell the alcohol before he even downed the first gulp, but Kana hadn't been perceptive enough, finishing the drink with five gulps all at once. After the blond was able to get their money back, he noticed how sick the girl seemed after drinking, even though it was a weak and cheap sort of Sake, realizing in time she looked like she was about to vomit. He then decided to lead her to behind a storage shack near the entrance of the Jinja, so that she could let everything out without being seen by society. But what actually happened was much more than he could have imagined – it turned out her sickness was just a symptom of what was coming next. Now, instead of looking around for his all-time crush, he was stuck trying to hide from the rest of the world as he did what he could to knock some sense back into the young woman whose marriage he had been invited to. A huge marriage. A huge marriage with a Yakuza leader. A huge marriage with a Yakuza leader that could perfectly kill him if he was caught with the future wife in that state.

Panic started to swell up into Jirou's body for the second time that day as he finally moved his hands up to try getting his childhood friend's arms off him, but it only served for her grip to grow surprisingly tighter around his body. It was then that he noticed that he shouldn't use any more strength, or else he would just end up hurting her and obtaining no success, so he decided to just go on with his stuttering, "I-I-I don't think t-this is appropriate at all, Ienaga-san..."

"Like I said~" she giggled yet again, "call me–"

"**B-Because**," he put a certain emphasis on the word, a little annoyed for being interrupted, "I already have... s-someone, y-you see... a-and Ienaga-san has Nura-kun, s-so..." slowly, he started lowering his voice until he had trailed off completely, upon seeing the drunken young woman had suddenly gone serious and silent the moment he mentioned the name "Nura", downing her head and hiding her chocolate eyes in the shadows of her auburn bangs. While she began to tremble a little, her hands fell to his chest, clutching his yukata as a few water drops fell from her closed eyes. It was then that Jirou understood she was beginning to reach another stage.

The emotional one.

"'Ienaga-san has Nura-kun', huh..." she said very lowly, as if to herself. Then, pressing her lips a little too tight together, she shot her head upwards, almost hitting his chin, her watery eyes staring at his helpless ones with momentary anger, "'Ienaga-san has Nura-kun', you say?!"

"Ugh...!" the now intimidated heir swallowed hard, wishing to have never said those words and trying to soften the crying girl's confusing mood by clarifying everything, "B-But, isn't that it? Y-Your fian–"

"So what if Rikuo-kun is my fiancé?!" she asked, her voice raising, which made Jirou immediately and shakily put his two indexes in front of his lips as he begged for her to be more discreet, but she seemed to pay no mind to it as she went on, "That doesn't mean I can have him!" just as the heir felt he had no choice but to shut her up with a hand over her mouth, she started sobbing, which decreased her tone as it cracked, "Having him would be the same as having his love, isn't that what you mean...?! But...! But Rikuo-kun... Rikuo-kun already..." she interrupted herself, downing her head yet again and trembling slightly as she seemed to be somewhat already reaching her limit.

"I-Ienaga-san...?!" with his head more messed up than ever before, the boy who was now deeply regretting ever accepting his old friends' invitation fearfully called.

And then, finally, she exploded.

"N'aaah, mou!" she nearly screamed, causing him to jump slightly in her hold with a shriek, "Just kiss me already!" still with tears in dwelling in her eyes and a look that mixed both frustration and sorrow, she did exactly what her friend had been trying to avoid. With her arms pulling him closer and her body pushing forward and upward at the same time, she closed her eyes.

Then kissed him.

It wasn't much of a big deal, since it was the first time for both of them and was happening in a rather uncomfortable situation, but Jirou was certain it would take him a lifetime to forget the moment her lips met his – if there was any possibility of him ever forgetting it, that is. Because, even though he couldn't do anything at all other than blushing madly as he stood frozen on his feet, he couldn't help but enjoy the silky warmth of the brunette's gestures, even though they were quite forceful and indecent. Of course, she was tasting like alcohol, but that was the last thing he could care about. And, just as the boy could swear his cheeks were tingling from flushing red, the young woman backed down. It was only after their contact broke that he understood they had only been connected for a couple of seconds, but to him, it had felt like an eternity.

Slowly opening her hazel eyes, Kana stared up at his wide open ones with a sleepy look, her eyelids droopy and her orbs shining a little more than usual, thanks to her tears, "Sh... Shima-kun..." not yet very far from him, her words came out like breath against his half-parted lips, making him shudder, "you taste... weird..." she commented, then her eyes slowly closed as her orbs rolled up to her head. Her weight started to grow heavier against him, her hold on his neck becoming weaker, as she began to slide down.

Until she collapsed at once.

"Whoa!" Jirou yelped as he found the will to move again, catching the girl in his arms before her knees hit the ground. "Ienaga-san?! Oi, Ienaga-san!" Sitting down, he adjusted her in a way he would be able to see her half-conscious face, and, not knowing what had caused her to suddenly almost faint, he tapped her cheek slightly and continuously to try bringing her back. It took him a while, but, at the sight of her opening her eyes again – or, rather, of her struggling to open them – he calmed down a little, quieting himself as he sighed.

Fighting to keep her eyes up, she seemed to be taking in everything around her as she spoke, her voice coming out almost like a hoarse whisper, "Shi... ma-kun...?" slowly recovering her senses, she tried to lift her body, but it seemed to be too heavy for its own good. What also didn't make anything better was that her head felt like constantly spinning around, her mouth was dry again, her vision was a little off, and, maybe that was just Jirou's impression, but her face seemed much rosier than before. In the end, she was only able to get on her feet thanks to his assistance, but still couldn't walk by herself. Taking baby steps while being supported by him, she didn't even seem to mind their closure as she said, "Hmmm... this feels awful... what happened?"

It was then he understood with relief – she was coming back to normal.

Not knowing exactly how to answer, the blond noble merely told her he would explain later, his blush returning. With his arm around her, the two of them walked together back to the Jinja's walkway and resumed their search, now slower than ever. While they did so, he couldn't help but notice the Jinja was becoming less and less crowded, being reminded that it was getting late. But the fact the place now had much less people than before was also a good thing, because that would make it easier for them to find the ones they were looking for. Smiling, he thanked the Kami-sama that the problematic part of the night was finally over and most likely he would be able to go home soon. But his smile disappeared as he glanced down at his sick friend, recaps of what had happened earlier playing in his mind no matter how much he tried to push them away. Pursing his lips childishly, he shot his head to the opposite side. She probably never meant any of what she did and had most likely forgotten everything, so the best thing was that he did the same.

Or, at least, tried to.

~o0o~

"Yura... are you okay...?" At the call from the young man of one of the branch families, the little Keikain heiress couldn't help but flinch slightly, her cheeks burning at the sight in front of her.

The "small" party the Keikain had been holding for Mamiru had been going well at some point, and it would have been over quite smoothly in an hour or two, when everything suddenly went downhill in a second. One of the family members, who had become taken over with the ceremonial drinks a little too quickly, had done everyone the favor of tripping onto his own clothes while holding a large and full Sake bottle. As he fell to the wooden floor, the bottle that had flown from his hands went directly to guest of honor, who would normally have easily jumped out of the way if he hadn't been distracted. As result, his yukata was soaked and the perfect wooden floor was ruined. Still, the good part was that, thanks to the amazing physic of the giant youngster, if one ignored he was all wet, it would seem like nothing had happened.

While negotiating the payment for the damage, the guilty member was shamefully taken away outside as Mamiru was led by one of the Jinja's Miko, who had earned her name after the Jinja itself, to a single-person room where he received new clothes and wet towels to clean himself. At that moment, Yura had decided to follow them and see if he was alright or if he needed anything else – all out of pure concern towards her indirect kin, who, despite being old enough to take care of himself, sadly couldn't do so all that well. That was because, when he was young, Mamiru had suffered a serious accident while trying to obtain success in using a secret Onmyouji technique of the family – a forbidden, dangerous technique that a child should never even think about. The result was drastic, and anyone could tell that even though Mamiru had the luck of keeping his life, he would **never** again be the same. Everything in him had changed by then – he had no expression in his face anymore, his eyes showed no signs of life and he spoke in broken sentences. It also seemed that, even though he was capable of learning, he could never read the atmosphere, and so he would continue to be as clueless as a child in some aspects even after he became an old man. For all of that, Yura's (and also the rest of the family's) worrywart towards him had a different level. It was not like he always needed care, but it seemed that he needed to be checked on every now and then to see if he wasn't doing anything stupid, which meant he couldn't always just rely on himself. And so, she had opted for going after him.

Big mistake.

She had never thought he would familiarize with the room he had been put in so quickly. By the time she reached the door, which was not even a minute after the Miko had left, his body was already half-exposed. As her face became as red as a tomato, his didn't seem to change the slightest bits as he stood there, examining her motionless and embarrassed form with subconsciously hidden concern as he (thankfully) stopped undressing.

"Yura...? What's wrong...? Say something..." He started moving closer, as if to examine her strange actions (or the lack of them).

"Ugh...!" snapping out of her trance, which she didn't quite know the cause of, Yura finally regained her words as she put her open palms in front of her, "S... Stop it right there, Mamiru-nii-chan!"

"Eh?" obedient as always, the orange-haired Onmyouji became a statue on the spot.

As the brunette tried to find the right words to tell him she was retreating, some voices were heard coming through the halls – no one other than her brother and one of her closest cousins, who seemed to be coming to check on Mamiru too. Her response was immediate and desperate as she closed the doors quickly but surprisingly silently, being careful enough to take off her zouri before walking away from the shouji as fast as she could so that there would be no signs of her presence for the up-coming outsiders.

"Yur...?"

The young man was successfully silenced yet again as his blushing companion put a finger in front of her lips. "Don't tell anyone." Was the only thing she managed to say, but thankfully, the clueless older Onmyouji seemed to take that as an order, regardless of the fact he still hadn't understood anything at all.

"Oi, Mamiru," a rough and muffled voice, which the two identified to be Ryuuji, was heard together with a knock on the doorframe of the room's shouji, "you okay back there?"

After glancing at Yura one more time, who gave him a pleading look, Mamiru turned his head back to the source of the question, "Yeah."

"Do you need any help?" another voice, this one belonging to Akifusa, asked gently.

"No, I'm fine." Again, a curt and direct reply.

"We're heading to the Jinja's gates, and you're expected to be there to say good-bye to everyone. Looks like the party has come to an early end." Ryuuji informed, sounding a little more relieved than he should. "By the way, have you seen Yura around? That brat was coming here, but we lost her."

"Yeah, she did come." At Mamiru's honest answer, the younger one's heart skipped a beat and her face was washed in disbelief as she let her jaw drop, and she was about to say something when he continued, "But she has already left." With a deep and inaudible breath, her head hung loose and she put a hand on her chest with a small smile in slight satisfaction.

"Is that so? That troublesome idiot..." Ryuuji sighed, "I wonder what I should do to punish her for that." Then a rather evil smirk broke on his lips as he scratched his chin slightly, "Throw her into the compost like last time, maybe...?"

"Well," Akifusa cleared his throat, "We'll be leaving then. Sorry to bother."

"Alright."

"Remember, go to the main gates." Ryuuji reminded before going away for good, "Got it?"

"Okay." And there it was – that usual monotone response that would always leave people wondering if the wavy-haired man had actually understood anything or not.

Yura could feel her heart rate becoming steady again after the sound of geta colliding with the wooden floors slowly faded away through the corridors. Breathing deeply, she almost forgot she was alone in a small room with a half-naked older man. Letting herself collapse onto an improvised small bed leaning against of one of the room's yellowish white walls, she was only reminded of the presence of the second party when he yet again called her name, this time with a pat on her head. As she jumped slightly, he immediately withdrew from the kind gesture, not noticing her strong blush was back again when she caught herself staring at him for a little too long.

"Yura... you're acting... strange." Was Mamiru's obvious deduction. "Are you... sick?"

Still blushing and not looking, she sighed, "No... not at all. I'm just..." she cut off, not really knowing what to say. With one more sigh, she reformulated her sentence, "I'm sorry." As she received a "what for?" look, she continued, "Forgive me for invading your privacy and making you omit my presence."

"Hm...? Is that... all? If it's so... then it's fine." Mamiru responded with ease, taking the moment to resume getting dressed.

"You're too easy on me, Mamiru-nii-chan." With a small smile, she sighed at his subconsciously-expressed kindness.

"No, rather... Yura is the one... who's used to being treated badly." He said seriously after finishing putting on the yukata that had been lent to him by the owner of the Kokehime Jinja himself, Hitotsume Nyuudou. Said yukata from the old man was big even in someone as tall and well-built as the orange-eyed young man, but he had managed to make it fit quite well.

As he sat on the bed, a very awkward Yura finally took the chance to look properly at him, realizing how much more suitable those clothes looked on him than his previous one. For a moment, she was in a daze about how the mixed dark colors of the expensive-looking yukata seemed to give the pale man a more healthy appearance, to make his hair seem even more outstanding than it already was and how the beautiful stamp of a dragon that crossed down the right side of the cloth was a very elegant touch. In fact, she was so lost staring at him that she almost forgot about what they had been talking about, but then it hit her again like a rock.

Ryuuji.

Her brother, overall, wasn't a bad man, but it had always seemed that any and every thing he did to her was with a bad intention. He was a liar through and through and one of his hobbies was to mistreat his younger sister, to the point even someone like Mamiru could notice how much it bothered her. Sometimes, she just wished she could have a normal relationship with him – nevertheless, she still loved him that way.

"But... if Yura prefers to be punished... it's okay by me."

"Eh?" a now confused brunette blinked, wondering what was the real meaning behind those words. And it was then that she asked herself – was he that close before?

"If... the one in my place right now... was Ryuuji..." he continued, his face leaning closer. "he would probably... throw you into the compost... like he said."

"W-Wah...?!" the brown-eyed girl sweat-dropped at how dangerously suggestive the situation was becoming, her hands raising to her chest as she tried to lean backwards while her blush castigated her facial skin, "Ma... Ma..."

"As for me..." ignoring her attempts to ask him to stop, he took the liberty to slowly envelope one of her hands in his as he continued not to allow her to have any personal space, until her once again too-shocked-to-move form was nose-to-nose with him, "my punishment... would be something more like..." trailing off slowly, he used his free hand to cover her wide-open eyes, and, with his forehead touching hers smoothly, he adjusted her face so that they were in a perfectly fitting position.

Then kissed her.

It was only after his rather soft lips met hers that she understood that what was happening was actually real, no matter how much it seemed like a distant illusion or a dream. It was also then that she was able to perceive that, even though she had never witnessed or heard of Mamiru ever being with a woman, he seemed to know very well what he was doing as he moved gently against her, as if not to make her more nervous than she already was. What caught her attention as well was the fact she wasn't feeling the slightest bits of any sort of negative emotions at the moment, regardless of being violated. In fact, she was feeling so happy that she was sure if she had a tail, it would be frantically wagging by then. She also felt the embarrassing need to reciprocate what she had never even imagined he would ever do to her, but couldn't bring herself to do any movement whatsoever other than trembling slightly, squeezing her eyes tightly and gritting her teeth together to the point they started to hurt. Instead, she kept wondering why she was having such inappropriate desires and feelings. That was mostly why she was quite thankful (yet a little resentful) that their little "moment" didn't last long at all.

By the moment the older man broke their too-intimate-for-its-own-good contact, she was the first one to open her eyes, only able to get her breathing to become steadied after he had completely let go of her. As he slowly followed her and opened his eyes himself, she was more than amazed to see in them something that she hadn't seen in really long and had also never thought she would ever see again – shine. And, for a moment, she thought that, maybe, there was still salvation for his spirit and that he could still be retrieved into who he was before.

"...this."

~o0o~

A little later that night, when Rikuo and Tsurara were at last able to find Jirou and Kana, they couldn't be more surprised with the scene before them. As Jirou explained everything, – except the part of her becoming drunk and kissing him, which was something he most likely would never tell anyone (let alone her fiancé) – Tsurara suggested they hurried up back to their carriage, for her mistress-to-be needed water to get rid of the alcohol in her body and have a good night's rest after that rather embarrassing accident. But still, it seemed that "hurry" wouldn't be a fitting word to describe the group's way to their destination. After all, no matter how much they wanted to hurry, not only Kana couldn't go on properly because of her nausea, but also an injured Rikuo had no choice but to pace slowly, or else he could end up really reopening his wounds (since he had been incredibly lucky they weren't already open). Because of that, the whole walk would have been quite awkward if Jirou's disposition hadn't been brought back by the sight of the aide. The silence of the night was then filled with his flattering words of how she looked cute with her hair tied in a ponytail, which couldn't have made her redder as she kept dismissing him with gratitude. Of course, when she was asked what had happened with her bun, she simply answered it with a half-lie, saying that it had fallen down, not because someone had run their hands through it, but because she hadn't tied it firmly enough. And she couldn't be more relieved to see the other two had bought it without suspecting of anything.

While the two talked, Jirou couldn't help but try paying a closer attention to the Nura heir beside him – consequence of what Kana had been saying about him in her drunken form, for it had made the blond wonder if their relationship was being troubled. After all, her words seemed to insinuate that she had some sort of unrequited love towards him. Jirou knew it was none of his business, yet out of curiosity, he didn't think just trying to observe them to see if something was really off would cause any problems. And his conclusion was that the heiress must have been just talking about it without thinking, or if she was saying what she actually considered true, she was just mistaken, because any idiot could tell Rikuo's looks of pure concern towards her contrasted what she had said of him – he definitely had something for her. Sighing, the soccer player took that as a closed case, and hoped the brunette would snap out of her frustrations soon. And, at the same time, he wondered why he had been thinking so much about that ever since what had occurred behind the shack. Nevertheless, his talk with Tsurara helped him dismiss it all, and soon he was feeling uncharacteristically cheerful again.

Also within that same timespan, Kana, even still a little dizzy, was able to pay attention to the servant and the master. If it wasn't for her suspicions and fears, which had been rising ever since Jirou announced to have found the two sitting on a bench nearby, her sickness would have taken the better of her. But now, she was pushing herself a little just so she could observe them closely. What she saw in her beloved "prince charming" was nothing but a certain need to offer help as he kept constantly asking her about how she was feeling and if she didn't need anything, and that seemed to have made it up a little for all the agony she was experiencing. Still, she knew very well his concern were nothing to be romanticized – he was the type of person that would cherish and worry about everyone, which was the expected of such a great leader. Moreover, as much as she was thankful he was showing that much interest in her welfare, she was also still quite guilty that it was (ironically) exactly because of her that he couldn't offer her any assistance. After all, had it not been for her sake, he wouldn't be hurt and unable to help her as she **again** caused him trouble by being reckless. Instead, she had to bother Jirou by relying on his arms – and the worst part was that she couldn't even reveal the reason why to him. And meanwhile, Rikuo was stuck having to use the cane he had borrowed from his grandfather (who never used it) to pretend he was able to walk normally.

Averting her eyes to the other female, Kana tried to find in her any signs of something that could have possibly happened while she and her master were out of sight, which the hazel-eyed one was sure that would be much easier, giving how obvious the aide was. What she was able to observe was nothing to be suspicious about, except the fact Tsurara seemed to be feeling a little too tense and that now she was again clinging to her superior's arm. But that didn't seem to prove anything – after all, everyone was tense (just not as much as her) and she was there exactly to help him walk straight if he needed. Other than that, clinging to him was nothing but natural to her. Dismissing the unpleasant thoughts that could only make her sicker and the desire to be the one Rikuo could rely on, Kana just listened closely to the raven-haired girl's story about what had happened.

It seemed that, back at when Jirou found Tsurara and they were heading somewhere else away from Kana and Rikuo while talking, she got carried away and misled herself into a crowd of a betting stall nearby. Remembering the place, Jirou seemed to have understood everything, confirming the story could be true. And before the two of them had parted, Rikuo, spotting the two in the distance, went to offer Tsurara some assistance, but wasn't able to outdo the noise as he called for Jirou and ended up losing him from sight. The two had been looking for them while making eventual stops ever since.

Sighing, Kana felt somewhat lighter. By the looks of it, nothing quite serious had happened after all. Still, she couldn't help but have a weird feeling something wasn't quite right. And, while she debated with herself about it, Jirou continued to help her as he vividly chatted with Tsurara non-stop on their way down the Jinja's practically infinite stairways. As she tried to keep up with the pointless talk with the old friend, Tsurara was secretly holding her master's hand with her free one, which was hidden by her arm that was clinging to his to help him walk despite the pain and discomfort of his wounds. Tangling her fingers with his and easing him with her cold touch, her purpose was to communicate him he didn't have to feel as useless as he seemed for not being able to help an old friend and to assure a rather possessive side of him that he didn't have to mind Jirou's endless talk. Seeming to understand the message, he undid the bond between their once laced hands to trace his index onto her palm, forming a syllable to every step they took until they reached the end of the stairs. With her blush increasing a little, which pleased him quite a bit, the bodyguard also seemed to understand the word he had written on her skin before enveloping her hand in his again – "a-ri-ga-to-u". And so, the four of them made their way back home as they kept their inner conflicts and complications to destroy themselves little by little on the inside, not knowing they weren't the only ones in the same situation.

After all, that night, a Souhei decided to no longer live in chastity.

That night, an engaged heiress opened her heart in the worst state possible.

That night, an unfortunate circumstance led two Onmyouji to a committing moment.

And, that night, a leader once again broke the family pact that had been entrusted to him.

~o0o~

By the sunrise, the Ienaga daughter was feeling like the most humiliated woman in the world. Maybe she was just exaggerating, but she couldn't have thought of a worst night than the one before. She had spent the whole time suffering because of her momentary carelessness once again, having to drink tons of water and use the restroom far too frequently so that she could expel all of the alcohol from her body, which proved just how weak and intolerant she was for drinks. And, accompanying her in her torment, were Saori and Tsurara, who had been constantly taking care of her.

She was both sorry for making such busy and tired servants overwork themselves to stay with her and also quite displeased to have to rely on her undeclared love rival and let her see her in that state, but she had no choice for three reasons. One of them was that Rikuo, who was the real person she had wanted to assist her for the night, was unable to be of any use, and had collapsed onto his futon falling fast asleep as soon as they had arrived home due to how his wounds had almost been exposed again. And the only person she could blame for that was herself. Another was that her other maid wasn't there to help. Apparently, Natsumi had gone missing after she left her room a little late, but, as much as her co-worker and mistress were worried sick about her, they had to wait until everyone was awake to go looking for her – after all, they couldn't just go waking up the whole mansion, which was mostly composed of attendees that were overloaded with housework, just for the sake of making sure a single girl was alright. And the last reason, the most important, was that Kana had made both Tsurara and Saori swear on their lives they wouldn't call any other servant or Wakana to give them assistance, because it would be quite shameful for her to let anyone else know about what happened (even because people could get the wrong idea of her accident). Understandingly, they had complied.

While they were at it, Tsurara couldn't help but feel sorry for her future mistress, even knowing that was exactly the last thing she wanted from her. Still, she only actually agreed not to tell anyone about what had happened under the condition of having permission to help Saori take care of her during her secret task to eventually go to Rikuo's room and watch him over the night to see if he was sleeping soundly, which she had been doing ever since he got himself injured without anyone's consent (of course, without revealing that to them). And, as much as Kana hated to admit it, Tsurara had been a much better help than she had ever thought she would be.

There would have to be a proof of gratitude for that later.

Also by the sunrise, the Nura-gumi's Sandaime was irritatingly awoken by the sunlight reaching his still tired eyes, but his annoyance was completely gone by the time he opened them, for what he found was his faithful aide seated on the wooden floor beside him while petting his head. Smiling a little tiredly, she welcomed his awakening form by asking, "Are you up already, Waka?"

As response, he returned the smile while moving to rest his head on her knees, "I hope so." Feeling her slow down her movements a little, he looked up at her, pleased to see her embarrassed face not only at his gesture, but at his words (which were an implication that, if he wasn't awake, he didn't want to be just yet). With his smile growing at his aide's endless adorableness, he asked, "So how's Kana-chan?"

"I won't lie, Rikuo-sama. Last night was very hard for Kana-sama. She didn't get any sleep at all." Tsurara answered with a hint of pity, "That's why I had thought she wouldn't get out of her room today, but, it seems that after she let all the Sake out, she started feeling much better. She seems quite lively right now and was even trying to help Wakana-san in the kitchen."

"Really? That's good to h..." the white-haired heir began, but interrupted himself as soon as he processed the last part of what he had been told. "W-Wait... Kana-chan... in the kitchen...?! I thought she had said she was no good with housework..."

Sweat-dropping, the indigo-eyed one nodded, "Well... at least she has been trying hard. Isn't that what a good wife should do?"

"Tsurara..." sensing something bad could have happened, the Wakagashira frowned suspiciously, "what happened there?"

"Kana-sama... was very determined to try doing something, you see... but she ended up breaking some of Wakana-san's favorite sets of dishes, so she decided to retire out of embarrassment after giving a thousand apologies." The older one answered awkwardly, remembering both the accident and how she had to console her current mistress afterwards. "Let's just say she lacks experience. I don't think an Ojou-sama such as her is familiarized with chores at all, but Kana-sama is doing that for the sake of becoming a more fitting woman for this household, like Wakana-san. I'm pretty sure that, though she may not have potential, she can still go far with her insistence. Someday, I believe Kana-sama will become a wonderful Nura wife."

"Is that really what you think, Tsurara?" Rikuo asked straight and bluntly.

"Eh?"

"Do you really think Kana-chan will ever stop being so clumsy and careless? It's been five years already and she hasn't changed in that aspect at all. It's a trait of hers that will probably never disappear." He sighed, knowing he was being quite pessimist, yet there was no way he couldn't be, because he was speaking realistically as well. "She's... troublesome by nature. And even after so much time, it still seems like... when Kana-chan is around... things tend to get out of hand."

At his words, Tsurara couldn't help but feel just as down as he was. After all, she knew that was all true. Still, she really did have hopes that her future superior's feelings for the Sandaime could motivate her enough for her to accomplish her goals, one of them being surpassing her in-laws-to-be. But, as the aide told her master that, he didn't seem convinced that such a thing could happen. That took her thoughts back at the morning after the night he was injured, when he told his arranged wife he didn't keep burdens with him.

He had lied.

Nura Rikuo was just like that – he considered protecting everyone with his life as something extremely important to keep the balance of Edo as well as of the country, even those who could just end up pushing him down. And, as much as he considered Kana an indispensable person in his life, there was still no helping it that she didn't seem to be able to be helpful in any sort of situation at all. All she seemed to do was to cause problems, and the worst part was that she was never able to solve them, only watch as other people had to do it for her. The aide knew her master didn't want to admit it, but the lack of other words to describe the Ienaga heiress in that aspect was preoccupying. That was also one of the main reasons why most of the Nura servants were either indifferent about their marriage or didn't approve it. It was nothing like the past Nura wives, who were really well-accepted and admired by them. But thankfully, as a sign of respect, none of them would actually do anything against Kana other than talking about her on her back. Still, it didn't mean she couldn't find out about it sooner or later.

Tsurara painfully wondered if Rikuo would be able to lie again if that happened.

"I don't know... it's just that, Kana-chan may be an intelligent and active person, but things just go **too** wrong with her sometimes. To me, it looks like she's been too spoiled, even for an 'Ojou-sama'." Rikuo said with a frown. "Like, she'll always need help doing almost everything."

"Ah, but isn't that the kind of woman most of men like?" Tsurara asked, clarifying it a little nervously as her commander gave her an odd look, "I-I mean, the one that is sparky and fragile, so that she can always be protected?"

"Actually, I think that can't be generalized... maybe most of men like that type either to feel like they are in control of things or show off... anything of the sort, but... I can't care less about that." A smile approached his lips again, "Personally, I think the ideal image of a woman is the type that can be sparky, yet not fragile, but self-sufficient. I mean, aren't **real** relationships based on cooperation? It's not actually cooperation if a woman can rely on her man but a man can't rely on his woman and vice-versa. And I'm not saying Kana-chan a useless person, just that she still hasn't found what she's actually useful for." As his smile became a little more serene, he put one of his hands over her free one, which was lying on her lap beside him, "And, to tell the truth, I don't think she'll ever find it here..."

At the short speech (which yet again had a hidden implication of her) and the soft caressing on her cold skin, the raven-haired maiden's rosy cheeks became completely red in a matter of seconds. Looking up again, her master had to hold back a laugh at her cuteness, when he noticed something rather strange – although her face had blood flushing all over, except under her eyes. In fact, there were white stains there, which he assumed to be make-up. With the look of suspicion back, he slowly got up and adjusted himself so that his face would be in the same level as hers. Already anticipating she would think he was going to steal a kiss, he was much quicker than her backing up as he put a hand on her face and quickly whipped off the mark on her left eye a bit, finding exactly what he had been expecting. With a little eye-twist, it obvious he was more than unpleased to stare at the wrinkled dark bags under her eyes in such a short span of time from the last time he had done so. As for her, she merely tried to give him a dismissive smile as she said, "Ah, it didn't work after all..."

"Kejourou helped you with that, didn't she?" Rikuo asked, sighing as he received a nod as response. There she was again, pushing herself to her limits because of him like she had done several times before. He had lost count of how many times she had made that face at him, making it clear she was very tired, yet she believed there was nothing wrong with it. To her, it was just natural and quite gratifying that he could be supported and taken care of by her, but as much as it was true in a way and he was thankful for that, he wished she could consider at least once in her life thinking about herself first. After all, there must be a limit for everything, even for a master to rely on his own servants.

But she seemed to never be able to learn not to be so selfless.

Moreover, it didn't look like those bags had been formed the night before – they were a little too big. With an arched brow, he asked for how long she had been staying awake, and he was quite surprised to find out she had been coming to his room and assisting him ever since he got injured, which took a few hours of rest from her, and then she would force herself to look and work normally the following mornings.

Her dedication was certainly one of the few things in the world that never ceased to amuse him.

Still, he was only feeling even more guilty than before as he said, "You idiot! What did you think you were going to gain with that? I was already okay! Why did you have to come here every night?" by the time the words left his mouth, he felt bad for being do blunt, but he was just too frustrated with her behavior, and when he noticed, it was too late to grab everything back.

"T-That's because, you see... Rikuo-sama has seemed very uncomfortable while sleeping lately because of the pain and the many bandages, so I thought I could just come and help with that." At that, she could see he was going to open his mouth to speak again, but she wasn't yet done, "Ah, but, it's not Rikuo-sama's fault. It's actually mine. I can't really bring myself to sleep if Rikuo-sama isn't sleeping safe and soundly himself, so that's why."

Serious and still, Rikuo stared at her for a couple of seconds more. She was really hopeless – so much he felt like hugging her tight sometimes. He needed to award her somehow and had decided to do it the best way possible to both of them (at least, in his opinion). But, just as his face was mere inches from hers, he was stopped by something cold and thin reaching his lips. His eyes had been half-way to closing, and when he opened them again, what he found was her still smiling and blushing face.

"Not this time." She said, a little too cheerfully to his liking, as she watched him frown. "By the way, Nurarihyon-sama is back."

At the mentioning of his grandfather's name, the white-haired one's silver brows shot up, "Jijii?"

"As well as the wedding's guests." She added, "Waka and Ojou are expected to greet them later while eating breakfast together. For now, they want to establish themselves in their rooms and rest from the long trip."

"Well... they're earlier than I'd thought." he smirked, "As expected of Jijii."

~o0o~

That morning, Natsumi was pleasantly awoken by the sounds of birds chirping outside. Smiling before she opened her eyes, the maid started to debate with herself whether she should get up or give in to the comfort of the cozy state she found herself at for a little longer. Not only the desire to sleep more was begging her to stay, but also the warmth of her sheets, the smooth softness of her futon, and the breeze reaching the back of her head – it was all too overwhelming. But, thinking a little better about it, where was that breeze coming from? If the shouji were already open, Saori had most likely woken up first. That was not only unusual and unlikely, but it was also very strange that, if Saori was really awake, she hadn't yet awoken her friend. Normally, when a lazy and sleep-loving girl like Saori woke up first, it meant they were late for work, and so she would usually kick Natsumi out of her dreams desperately. But, maybe Saori was just early. No, even with her eyes closed, Natsumi could tell there was much more sunlight there than the time they usually woke up – when the Sun was still rising. If it was past sunrise, then she was late. Then that could only mean Saori wasn't there. But why hadn't she waked her up then? Come to think of her, Natsumi didn't remember lying on the futon beside hers the night before. In fact, the last time she remembered seeing her co-worker was when she left her room to get some fresh air and clean her head.

All of that only seemed to point to one direction – she wasn't in her room.

Feeling her blood start running cold in her veins, Natsumi immediately tried to remember what had been the last thing she had seen before falling asleep the night before while snapping her eyes open, only to find herself staring back at the pure white-ness of a fluffy pillow, which had a scent that confirmed her suspicions, since it wasn't her own. Sighing as she allowed herself to enjoy said familiar scent for a second, the girl didn't have much success trying to recall what had happened, other than Kejourou approaching her to ask her to do her a favor. Raising her head a little, she dared to look around where she could possibly be, thankfully not finding anyone there. Still, the place before her just confirmed her worst expectations – she was in a man's room. What gave it away was how the walls were completely filled with many hand-made weapons. Naginata, Katana, Kusari-gama... all sorts of blades, in such quality and beauty the Japanese girl had never seen before. And, while she was amazed by them, she was sure she would never find any of that in a woman's room. Also judging by the small space, she doubted that was just a storage room, so that only left her with the option she feared the most.

And, if she really was in a male's room, the possibilities of what could have happened the night before were many – most of them really, really bad.

Nearly in panic with the realization, Natsumi let herself up, wanting to take the opportunity no one seemed to be around to escape before she was actually found out by anyone and to run to her friends' arms as quick as possible. But she was stopped by a well-known voice coming from behind as soon as she had sat herself on the futon that wasn't hers, "Ara, Natsumi-san, are you at last awake?"

At the sound of her name, she felt immediately relieved. Casting a look behind her, what she found was her big savior sitting by the open shouji doors of the garden, with a half-empty cup of sencha beside him. His hair, which was being smoothly blown by the wind, was neatly tied in a low ponytail and he was wearing nothing but the yukata he usually wore under his dark yellow kesa. That sight alone was enough to have the girl completely at ease, finally recognizing the room she was in and face-palming for not being able to remember it earlier – it was Kurotabou's.

"Y-Y-Yes...!" she sputtered rather lamely, gulping as she received a smile from him. It was only then she noticed she was still dressed and feeling more well-rested than ever before.

Getting on his feet, Kurotabou walked up to her and knelt by her side, missing her blush as well as she missed his. "Are you feeling better now? Do you feel pain anywhere? Maybe dizziness? Hunger?"

Smiling timidly a little while shaking her head, the brunette was yet again impressed with how gentle that man could be. It seemed he was willing to do her any favor without asking for anything in return. Come to think of favors, what had it been again the favor Kejourou had asked her to do the night before? Now that she was facing Kurotabou, she suspected it had something to do with him. Scanning her mind for a split second, she tried yet again to resurface what had happened back then.

And this time, she succeeded.

"Well, you see," Kejourou's voice replayed in her head, "Wakana-san asked me to bring her this maccha, and on the way, I couldn't help but notice Kuro is standing outside. I think he fell asleep there, but we can't leave him that way, can we? Wakana-san will probably want my company, so I won't be able to go there any time soon. And, since you're free, I don't see why you couldn't do that yourself. So... can you do this for me?"

The favor... she had accepted to do it. She had wanted more chances to talk properly to the Souhei, spend more time with him, to find a way to repay him for all he had done for her, and to develop a closer relationship with him – that was mostly why she was there, after all. She also recalled approaching him. And how he had literally knocked her down. And how after that, he had...

Right.

Natsumi could literally feel her blood rising from her neck and filling her face up more than it should, swearing there was warmth escaping from her ears in the process. How was she supposed to deal with that situation? Now she wished she had only tried to remember everything later, for she couldn't bear to look at the man that had claimed her lips to himself face-to-face anymore. But on the other hand, now there was no way she could run away from a question that had resurfaced in her mind ever since her hurt foot was taken care of by him, when he suddenly brought his face a little too close to hers, then backed up as if something had burned him. Said question had been bothering her for a while, and one of the other intentions she had when she accepted to do Kejourou that favor was to ask him about it. And now, no matter how embarrassed she was, her curiosity had only risen with what he had done the night before.

In resume, she had to ask him the quickest possible, or else, she felt like the doubt would consume her.

Tossing her eyes down, she was sure he was looking weirdly at her reaction. "Hu-Hum, Kurotabou... san?" she began nervously, trying to find a way to start the conversation so that she would be able to ask her question not so directly, "A... About what happened yesterday..." knowing she wouldn't be able to tell if he would answer her honestly if she wasn't looking at him in the eyes, she finally found some will to cast him a glance again, and what she found pretty much impressed her to the point she cut herself off with a, "ugh...?!"

While the Souhei was trying to keep his face with the reserved expression he usually had, his strong blush that was mirroring hers gave it all away – he was just as embarrassed as her. "Y-You see, Natsumi-san," he tried to answer the question she had not yet finished, already assuming what she was going to ask about, "I know it can be quite hard to believe, but, I assure you that... last night, nothing, hum..." he coughed nervously into his right fist, keeping it there, as if to cover his mouth and muffle his suggestive words, "**compromising** happened between us."

"Ah...?!" the cat-like-eyed maid jumped slightly, her blush couldn't be any redder, "N-N-N-No, th-that's not what I... I-I-I'm sure someone l-like Kurotabou-s-san would never do something like... I-I mean... you know..."

At the girl's constant babbling, which was pretty much like what she had done before, he felt the urge to smile yet again. Even with everything pointing against him, she still had the same vision of him as before. She could see through his personality very well, but not quite through him. That was something he had never seen someone that had spent such short time with him do. And she wasn't even much of the perceptive type, which showed that was an ability she only seemed to have with him. Maybe that, together with the fact she was able to captivate him so quickly, was just one more sign that she was exactly what he had been seeking in a woman. That was why, for the whole night, he had been reflecting with himself. He had probably never spent so much time making a decision in his life, but that was most likely the biggest one he could ever take. After all, it was quite sudden, and would most likely change his life forever, so it was definitely not to be taken lightly. He, as a Souhei, wasn't obliged to live in chastity, but that had been the path he had chosen to follow when he started his learning, together with an old friend-yet-rival of his, Kurata Aotabou. But after what had occurred between him and that girl, he decided he would have to leave Aotabou to follow that path alone, for he could no longer do it anymore. He wanted the young maid by his side – that was all.

That was why, right then and there, he was going to tell her about his feelings.

Rushed, reckless and risky – those were the best words he could find to describe what he was about to do, and he was well-aware of it. He was also aware a negative answer is what he would most likely get from her and wasn't sure if he would be able to handle it well. But, it seemed that, now that they were facing each other, nothing could stop him, not even himself. The more he thought about it, the more motivated he felt to tell her about his sentiments towards her, no matter how many factors were against him. Because, the more he thought about it, the more feelings he would accumulate in his chest, and so the more he wanted to let them out. And, while a part of him begged to wait for the right time to do it, another one, which seemed bigger and more insistent, couldn't wait to allow all of what he had to tell her to leave him for good.

"Natsumi-san." Interrupting her constant stammering softly, he tried to bring out a serious expression to match what he was about to say, but his façade still seemed to fail. "Before I explain everything that happened after you... fainted, I want to tell you something."

"Yes...?" she hugged the covers uneasily.

"I-I..." he filled his chest with air, "towards yo–" only to let it out in place of the words he actually wanted to say as the black-haired maid turned her head a little too quickly at some obnoxious noises outside. Miserably, Kurotabou knew she was not to be blamed for her immediate reaction, and soon he himself raised his head to the direction of the shouji of the innermost corridors. The noises seemed to be two voices, one belonging to an angry female and the other to a helpless male, and they were discussing right in front of his room. When the two inside listened closer, they understood what it was all about – Natsumi's disappearance the night before.

"C-Calm down..." the helpless male begged.

"Isn't that... Kejourou-san's boyfriend...?" the onyx-eyed maid asked.

"Don't just 'calm down' me, **little man**!" the angry young woman retorted rather rudely, her voice rising, "I'm gonna have a word with this perverted molester right now!"

"Isn't that your co-worker?" the sweat-dropping "perverted molester" asked uneasily.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kubinashi pleaded, "You can't just dash into his room like that! Why do you even want to do this? And what's that about... 'm-molester'?"

"Huh." Saori crossed her arms, "I'm sure you know the girl that was brought with me by Kana-sama. She's been missing for the whole night, and I'm almost completely sure this... this guy right there... he knows something." She said with a threatening tone of disdain, and while her shadow pointed to the door, Kurotabou could have sworn he had felt her finger sinking harshly into his chest. "He's been acting weird around her ever since we arrived here! And if he really has something to do with this... anything... don't expect mercy from me or Kana-sama!" she nearly yelled, as if to make it clear for him.

"Urk...?!" Kurotabou and Natsumi were close to choking with air.

Getting up swiftly, Natsumi adjusted her dress (which had become rather wrinkled while she slept), and was about to go to her blonde friend when a hand on her wrist stopped her – Kurotabou's. "N-Natsumi-san..."

"It's fine, I'll prove everyone this is just a misunderstanding." She smiled reassuringly, despite her slight annoyance for the two arguing blonds outside.

"But... but that's the problem... it actually isn't." the raven-haired Souhei said slowly.

"A... Are...?" with the facts hitting her like a straight ball, Natsumi put together the pieces of what both Kurotabou and Saori had said. In fact, Saori was there because she had felt Kurotabou had something to do with her friend's disappearance, and she was right. "B-But, Maki thinks you're involved in this with bad intentions. I'm sure that, if we explained her everything about it, we could–" the brunette would have loved to have finished the sentence in time. Unfortunately, the sound of Kubinashi's yelp, followed by the sound of the shouji being slid open behind her and then Kurotabou's face becoming one of pure fear, had her silenced automatically. As she dared to cast a look behind her shoulder, what she found were two dumb-founded blonds – one who had just broken in and another who had failed to stop her.

"K-K-Kuro..." a stuttering and wide-eyed Kubinashi was the first to speak, "D-Don't tell me... you really...?!"

"SEE?!" Saori pointed at the man in question yet again with a look of pure disgust, making him instinctively shoot his hands up in defense. "This... this beast...! How do you even call yourself a 'Souhei'?! Stay away from her!" she then stepped closer to Natsumi and pulled her to her side.

"Wait, Maki! You don't understand!" while the poor man couldn't say anything to defend himself, his number one admirer did it for him, "He helped me!"

"Eh?!" looking down at her slightly smaller friend, Saori's brows went up at the new piece of information. "What? Natsumi, if you're trying to defend him, forget it!"

With raising fists and an unpleased look, Natsumi shot back, "That's not it! Y-Yesterday night, I fainted a little after I left our room. Kurotabou-san brought me to his room after that. Because, since he doesn't know what's our room, there would be no way he could get me to you." she said honestly, and Kurotabou soon understood what she was trying to do: not to lie yet not to tell the complete truth about what had happened between them. In other words, she was just going to tell Saori about how he helped her again, despite the fact that, that time, it was because of him she had needed help. But, as much as he was grateful for her to be doing him such a favor, he couldn't think of reasons for her to be saving the one who had violated her. Had she been good-hearted to the point of having forgiven him already? If so, he had to pay her back somehow.

"'Fainted'?!" Saori exclaimed. "Why?"

"I was needing fresh air last night because I was feeling a little ill. Maybe it was something I ate." the other maid answered rather quietly, omitting everything successfully.

"R-Really?" the blonde maid asked, her expression softening with the guilt for pushing low words and accusations onto Kurotabou and for having noticed her old friend wasn't feeling well yet ignoring it and letting her walk around all alone late at night.

"Ah, but I..." all the heads turned to the Souhei at the faint sound of his voice, ignoring his slight blush, "I think I'm the one to blame for this. Me and Natsumi-san... we crossed paths yesterday, and I... caught her off-guard. I think that didn't help the fact she wasn't well. Maybe the cause was actually... me." He half-confessed with eyes down, following the brunette's decision to not say everything that had occurred for it was too late to back up, not to mention it would most likely generate a confusion.

"W-What are you saying, Kurotabou-san?" an indignant Natsumi inquired, "You're making it look like you did something actually bad!"

"B-But, didn't I?" he asked back, not knowing if what she had said was just to dismiss him or if she actually thought he hadn't done anything wrong. Mentally face-palming himself, he concluded it should already be obvious it would be the first option. "I mean, Natsumi-san really did seem... shocked back then."

"I-I was, but... that's not why I fainted." She admitted shyly, her blush returning as well.

A very confused Souhei asked, "Eh? N... No...?" If she hadn't fainted because she was surprised and afraid, what had it been the cause? That she was actually ill? Or that maybe...

"Of course not." Kubinashi absent-mindedly cut in, "Didn't she say it was because she was sick?"

"Ah. Ah, right." The other male downed his head.

"W-Well... if... if that was really so, I, huh..." the pecan-eyed one stuttered, bowing while not wanting to look at the one she had once called a pervert in the eyes. "I'm sorry... f-for, you know..."

"Oh, no, no." Kurotabou said dismissively as he also bowed, "I'm sorry too."

"M-Me too!" Natsumi followed, imitating the two as she kept blushing.

"What the...?" the blond short man continued to feel left out, noticing the presence of other two people nearby. Leaning back a little by the doors, he looked around, and was able to see that, from one of the corners of the corridors, his wife and mistress were sharing giggles.

~o0o~

When Rikuo's grandfather, the Soudaishou of the Nura-gumi, also known as "Chimimouryou no Nushi", – or, for the intimate, "Nurarihyon" – left some time before on a short trip to some places throughout the country, he only had one thing in mind: a huge assembly. Much like the previous three marriages of the past Nura leaders, he wanted his grandson's to be big and memorable, and so he did what he would usually do every year – escort his subordinates and the special guests of the up-coming ceremony himself. As a tradition, it was pretty much like the current leader to make a rather stylish and obnoxious entrance into Edo with his comrades, as if to publically announce something big was starting. In general, the scheme was simple – most of the invited lived quite far away, so they would meet and make their own little celebration of reencounter at a chosen place (this year, Osore-yama) before heading to what really mattered. This time, it was obviously the union between the Nura and the Ienaga households.

It wasn't necessary to be perceptive to see from afar that the Sandaime couldn't be happier as he entered the main hall of the Nura mansion with his most trusted servant by his side and was greeted with welcoming yet collected smiles, the room holding an atmosphere and many faces he had missed. And, as much as the Wakagashira had a deep feeling of rejection towards the reason why they were all there, he couldn't help but cherish the moment as he looked around. Sitting in a very organized way, the main guests chatted amongst each other while being served and enjoying their meal, which consisted in gohan, chopped fruits, eggery, misoshiru and some small accompaniments, like wakame and kabu. The drinks, which were varied cha types, were being offered by the wandering servants. In one of the corners of the room, one of these servants was refilling the bowls of the ones who wanted seconds and the pots of cha that had already gone empty. The guests' companies, who they had been kindly allowed to bring, were supposed to eat in another room, for what was starting was supposed to be only for the higher-ups, since it was much more of a serious matter than just a welcoming all, right there, more important yet more reserved than the party that had welcomed the current Nura bride home, that event was being made especially for her to be officially presented for the first time to the houses aside from the main one.

As Rikuo parted ways with Tsurara, who went to serve everyone with the other subordinates, he sat on his cushion, beside his grandfather and mother, and was greeted with a soft smile by her part. As for the old one, he just gave him his trademark lop-sided smile as he said, "Finally showing up, huh, sleepy-head."

"Shut up, Jijii." Despite the vein popping on Rikuo's forehead and the quick need to tell Nurarihyon exactly why he had taken long to come, he was quite satisfied to see the short old man back.

"Now, now, it's always so interesting to see how those two show affection towards each other." Wakana laughed a little together with the one putting a tray of a complete breakfast in front of her, "Don't you think, Tsurara-chan?"

"Yes~" was the cheerful reply.

"This feels a bit different from how Nurarihyon treated his son, though."

"Ara?" Tsurara turned her head at the familiar voice of the one that had spoken, who was coming to sit next to the brown-haired mistress, and she couldn't be more surprised with what she saw, "Eeeeh?! O... Okaa-sama?!" she exclaimed in disbelief a little louder than she should at the purplish-haired woman taking a seat nearby. Then, soon an expression of both happiness and admiration formed on her face as she paused from pouring fukamushicha into Nurarihyon and Wakana's cups, "I... I didn't know you were coming too!"

"Oi, oi, don't get carried away." Setsura advised, a little coldly.

"Ah, yes...!" the daughter embarrassedly resumed her work.

"And, sorry for not sending you a letter beforehand." The original "Yuki Onna" sighed, "But Nurarihyon invited us a little too late for that."

"'Us'...?" the bluish-haired one arched a brow, before understanding who her mother was talking about. "Ah, don't tell me... Reira-san has come too?"

Looking through the tray with cha Tsurara had with her, Setsura selectively read the labels on each pot while replying, "Exactly, but since she has been living in Toono for a while, she came with Akagappa, not me." Extending her cup, she asked gently, "Tamaryokucha for me." As her daughter obediently filled her cup until she said it was enough, she added, "And we'll be staying in your room. That's okay, right? Kejourou now lives with Kubinashi, after all."

"I wouldn't mind." Tsurara smiled gleefully, blushing a bit In fact, the one who would actually mind was the young man who did often unnecessary visits to her place.

"Ah, stop." The wavy-haired woman said, making the smaller one cease her movements immediately.

Setsura observed her descendant carefully, wondering how time could pass so quickly. When she moved to a place not very far from Edo, Hanyou no Sato, and left her daughter to assume her place in the Nura-gumi as part of the Sandaime's group of subordinates, she was aware the girl was still quite young and not as experienced with housework. Setsura believed she would have problems, but if she was really her off-spring, she would prove herself worth the expectations that had been placed upon her. And anyone had to admit: the little one was handling herself better than her mother herself had imagined she would. Not only her composure was much better but her skills with pretty much everything seemed to have improved – so much the difference between her before and her now could were noticeable with simply sparing her a single glance. Inwardly, Setsura smiled proudly. Still, there was something bothering her quite a bit.

"Tsurara."

"Y-Yes...?" upon being called when she was about to leave, the sapphire-eyed one sat back.

"You seem a little too happy." The Soudaishou's servant said, her tone slightly cold again.

"Eh?"

"Aren't you the slightest bits disturbed by this? I mean... everyone coming over to greet the bride? To help with the preparations? To honor the marriage between Rikuo-chan and that British girl?" Setsura asked, adding pressure to every word as her eyes stared into her look-alike almost fiercely.

"Sh-Should I be...?!" blinking a few times, Tsurara backed up a little.

"Why not? All of your letters are mostly about him. Every time I come to visit, you almost only talk about him. Probably, what goes on your head most of the time is him." The mother pointed out discreetly enough while the other laughed again and nodded, as if to agree. Blushing madly, Tsurara raised her hands defensively while babbling a bit, but in the end, she couldn't contest the truth. "You were even able to become his closest servant... and personally chosen by him, no less." Setsura went on, ignoring her child's indirect pleas for her to stop. "You're almost there. It'd be a pity if you just let him go like that."

"B-B-B-But, what do you expect me to do, Okaa-sama?" lamely stammering, Tsurara whispered furiously, "T-This marriage is very important and–"

"Yes, yes, I'm well-aware of those matters." The ruby-eyed woman said dismissively, and soon a smile made its way to her lips. But it wasn't the motherly smile she would give her daughter. It was actually one that resembled Kejourou's foxy smirk a lot, which already implied the nature of what she was about to say. Gulping, the younger one readied herself for whatever it was. "I'm not saying you should take him away from that girl, just that you could give him something to remember you by."

"W-What?"

"What I'm suggesting is: when the opportunity arrives," putting a hand on the azure-eyed young woman's small shoulders and pulling her closer, the "Yuki Onna's" smile grew a little as she said lowly, so that only she could hear it (although Wakana was also able to), "steal Waka's lips."

"Ha... Haaaah?!" beet red, Tsurara let out a yell, which would have drawn the room's attention all to her if it wasn't for the background noise.

At her reaction, Setsura's face suddenly became serious, as if she was talking about an extremely great deal, "This is an old desire of mine. I'm counting on you!"

"Ah...! Ah...! Ah...!" unable to speak, all the personal aide could do was to sputter incoherently while her blush didn't show any signs of going away. When she felt another hand on her other shoulder, she looked to the other side to see her mistress doing a cheerful thumbs-up, as if to imitate Setsura, but in a playful way. "W... Wakana-san too?!" At that time, she wondered how the reactions of the two older women would be if she told them **she** had actually already been the one to have her lips stolen first a long time ago and continued to have until then.

Suddenly, all there was in the room was silence.

Looking behind her, Tsurara understood what had been the reason why everyone had abruptly stopped eating and talking – all of the attentions were now centered on one single person standing by the doors. Soon, a few whispers and gasps broke the silence, but most of the people there kept themselves disciplined and quiet as usual, for the reason why everyone was gathering right then and there was finally making her entrance. The servants that were on their feet all set themselves to the side (yet with a certain distance from the guests) and sat, bowing quick and formally with their hands on the floor as a greeting, while the guests themselves bowed much less deeply, but still very respectfully. All of that marked the real beginning of their reunion and the presentation of the lone young woman that stood there, bowing back to everyone.

The bride was there at last.

~o0o~

hungrydotfridge! Are you reading this?! If you are, I hope you leave a comment to this story~!

And, Suki, honey, stay strong! This is another chappie for you!

Oh, my gosh... I couldn't help but notice my number of alerts diminished with that last chapter. I was thinking you were starting to see how unworthy of your time this lame work was, and so you were starting to leave me, but then, taking a look at 's NuraMago archive and tagging NuraMago on tumblr, livejournal and pixiv, I understood it wasn't only MY readers... it's the **whole** fandom. BUT, PLEASE, SHIIBASHI HIROSHI FANS, DON'T LEAVE JUST YET! THE MANGA MAY BE COMING TO A SUDDEN END, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE IT'S ALREADY OVER! STAAAY~!

Before I start the remarks, this may not be relevant to the story, but if any of you there has a tumblr account, I would love if you took a look at the NuraMago tag, because I've made a post especially for us, RikuTsura shippers – the title is "NuraMago Pairing Wars". If you're interested, be my guests, but I think I'll bore you, because it's reeeaaally long. Oh, and, I'm planning on starting another RikuTsura story, but probably a shorter one and with day Rikuo, to make up for my delay (which was because of tests and projects at school). What do you guys think?

Now~:

1) OMG, THIS WAS THE FREAKING **BIGGEST** KISSING SCENE I'VE EVER WROTE! I SURE AS HELL HOPE IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH!

2) Yeah, all of this story's main pairings sharing a kiss on the same night, all almost at the same time – too cheesy? And I think I should have everybody's first kiss a little better... but it's the first... there's no way a first kiss with inexperienced people can work out well... sorry, guys. This story was meant to be as realistic as possible. TT3TT

3) I apologize for taking so freaking long to update! I've been caught up with tests at school and a little out of inspiration, so... I'm sorry! I'll try to go faster next time!

4) I think you all understand I was trying to make everyone's first kisses to look alike, right? Yay to parallel love stories! Okay, that sucked.

5) A little explanation about Hitotsume: I split his original full name, "Hitotsume-nyuudou", in half. So now it's as if "Hitotsume" is his surname and "Nyuudou" is his name. As you read up there, he's Kokehime Jinja's owner (probably because it was founded by his family and passed down) and Kokehime's guardian (since she was attached to him, I figured they could have this sort of relationship). And, as you could see, he was being his old self here and he also won't be having only one eye, alright?

6) I know. I KNOW. My Mamiru there is a bit... okay, quite the violator and sort of a perv... but I couldn't help it! This moment came up in my head and since I'm such a hardcore MamiYura shipper, temptation got to me and... well, yeah. But he's not **that** bad is he? I mean, I think that kind of suited him in a way... to me, he just seems too hot to be as innocent as Shiibashi-sensei portrays him.

7) I also know that describing Kana as a burden may have been cruel... but, guys, let's be realistic here. Her character is sort of a burden. Okay, she was Rikuo's big push to becoming a Youkai for the first time, but after that, there was no use for her in the manga at all. She is the only human in the story that did nothing to help Rikuo in any way **and** subconsciously looked for death traps instead.

8) Is it just me... or I've been making everyone drink too much tea lately? I noticed every chapter has a different type of it...

9) BE HONEST WITH ME! Was Kuro and Natsu's love development too quick?

And now, the replies, anons!

Kuro: OMG, Kuro-san! I'm so sorry for taking your valuable time while you're busy with studies! I'm also so sorry you were missing this story so much you reviewed twice! *cries*

Aw, thank you very much for all the flattery.

Ahaha, "heat"? I won't even ask what you mean...

Yup, yup. About time Kuro did something.

Ehehehe~! I hope you liked the new couple.

Yes! Kubinashi and Kejourou~!

Yes, they kissed and there were all the bittersweet moments and everythin... wait, "heart attack"?! Don't leave me, Kuro-san! *knows it's a joke but being dramatic*

You're welcome, and the typos are okay. I can understand everything.

Awwwn, you keep flattering me~! Oh, stop it, you cutie, you patootie, you~!

I'm glad I've been influencing my readers to support my pairings!

Whoa, calm down. I don't want to make this story more depressing than it already is...

Reira as Tsurara's cousin could be a good idea, but I'd still have to find a way to put her in the Nura house so that she would be part of the story and a way to blend their bloodlines (and Reira would most likely be the daughter of a sister of Setsura's I'd have to make up).

There's no way I can picture Rikuo's relationship with Itaku without the "friendxenemy thingy"!

You mean you'd like to see Itaku and Reira in an arranged marriage? May be interesting...

At school? Haha. Thanks again!

Owwwn, how kawaii of you!

OMG, don't say that! I'll cry again!

YOU'RE INDONESIAN?! Cool! Another Indonesian reader! Oh, my language is Brazilian Portuguese. I don't know if it's as hard as Indonesian or where it's located in the top languages, but it's one of the world's hardest for sure. But, it doesn't make sense... English is one of the easiest and most practical languages that exist! How can it be hard for someone that knows fluent Indonesian?! Something is wrong there. You must be a beginner, am I right?

You're very welcome! I hope you're understanding everything!

Yeah!

Whoa, calm down. Is school there that bad?

Eh? "Risking your life"?! For reading a fanfiction?! What's going on? And what's this "dark aura"?! Why are you hiding?! Tell me, please! I'm starting to worry a lot here...

I shall not leave you waiting too long!

Lol, try if you can!

Hehehe, yes. Yes, you are. You and all of my readers are really awesome to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

OMG (I've been saying that too much, lol), this reply was able to get even longer than the last one! Kuro-san, you make my author notes too big, hehe. Not that this is a bad thing!

Guest: And I loved, loved, loved, loved your review!

Man, everyone's been calling Rikuo "sly" in the reviews... I wonder if I pictured him that far from what he is...

It's very good to come back, ehehe, thank you. I hope you enjoyed reading this update as much as I enjoyed writing it!

You lolled at the chapter? And I thought it was depressing...

Thanks again, and I'll try to update faster.

Guest (2): Thank you! I'll try my best!

Yuu-chan: Yay! It's Yuu-chan, then!

I'm sorry for taking so long!

I'm glad...

Lol, poor Kana. But, answering (or not) your question: you'll have to read to find out! Muwahahaha!

"A bitchy Kana"? That would be too OOC of her... and her image is already very bad in my story. But still, I guess one could consider her drunk state bitchy, even though she wasn't actually conscious back then... and that means I did it again. I'm so sorry, Kana!

You're welcome!

Read you~!

michie05: It's very nice to know I have loyal readers like you! *cries*

Aw, thank you so much!

I tried my best to make it cooler and sooner! I hope you enjoy it!

Yuki Onna: So you're telling me there was a possibility you could stop loving my story? Or you're just saying that because the number of anons was lessening and you wanted to show you wouldn't abandon me? Oh, please, be the second...

Is that so? As far as I recall, in that arc, all they did was meet in the midst of Kyouto while it was being destroyed and then get taken to the Nura house together to stay safe. It wasn't really ship tease or anything of the sort... though Kana did show some surprise when she saw how dedicated Kiyo was being... and she **blushed** back then, hohoho (but I think it was a little too quick, Kana, you fall in love too easily)~! I still think Saori fits Kiyo more, though. I mean, I think it would look kinda strange to see Kana with Kiyo or Saori with Jirou, because Kana and Jirou are so small and Saori and Kiyo are so big... not to mention Kana and Jirou have a lot in common, which is exactly what I need for this story, so~! Besides, Kana and Jirou are the only characters that have developed almost nothing within this story. All they did was to accept Rikuo's Youkai side and continue being his friends. Now Kiyo has cheered for him, helped him convince people Youkai aren't all malicious, and even was the quickest one to accept him. And Saori, she was very afraid of Youkai at first, but upon seeing Natsumi in danger, she fought with nails and teeth to face her fears and help her, and I also think she accepted Yoru very fast. I believe that characters that had such development shouldn't be lowered to be with ones that didn't have almost any development at all. Ah, but, to tell the truth, I can't care less about who Kana or Jirou will be with, seriously. AS LONG AS IT'S NOT RIKUO AND TSURARA.

Oh, I will, and thank you very much for the encouragement!

By the way, I always forget to ask this: why do you sign as "Yuki Tsurara"? It doesn't seem to make sense...

Nadilicious: you think it's only you who likes it? Hahaha!

I'm glad you liked it. And, like I said to many other reviewers, it's not like they "finally" kissed. They had already done it before the story was initially set.

Eh~? You don't know~? But Rikuo is such a lolicon~! I mean, if you check the Omake series of the manga, you'll understand why I think that way~! (Rikuo is a little **too** naughty for a twelve-year-old when it comes to Tsurara)

Awwwn, you actually blushed? How cute of you!

Ah, thank you very much. I will.

Anni: thank you for the honest review! I appreciate everything said! As for your suggestion, don't worry, I didn't take offense in anything.

I'll do what I can to make my sentences shorter, but I have to say I really don't want to. I don't really think my writing style isn't concise, precise or specific, no matter how much "paint" I add in it, because I don't consider it "unnecessary paint". I mean, I've always liked to make things detailed and realistic, that's why I always add the more information I can, so the readers don't have any doubts or missing links about anything in my story, and I can lead them to my trail of thoughts and feelings about what I write. I agree with you in some points, and I myself also don't bother reading non-dialogue paragraphs most of the times, but I can't help but still feel the need to write them, so I always make myself as clear as possible. And, maybe it's just me, but I mostly hate when things are short and simple, so that must be another reason why. Besides, I think anyone can read this and understand it, whether they have high or low intellectual status, firstly because I believe that, to be in this site, one has to be at least medium-leveled in that status, secondly because I've been getting quite a lot of feedback, and not all of it is well-elaborated, and thirdly because I think anyone can grasp onto this story's plot just by reading a few paragraphs and all the dialogues (not that this makes me happy). I also like to write a lot because there are people in here that actually read it all. I know that because I get a lot of awesome reviews pointing out every detail possible about this story and saying how much it's good to have long and consistent chapters, which I agree with. So, yeah, I don't think I'm going to change my opinion about this... I hope you understand.

Thanks again! I look forward to getting more comments from you!


	7. Possibility

Previous warning, guys (please read it all): much like the prologue, the first three parts or so of this chapter will be mostly in Kana's point of view, so I guess you can already tell there will be a lot of Kana and some RikuKana ship tease in them. It was a little hard for me to write it, but I need to make Kana have her part in the story and show more of her good side (since I've been treating her quite badly the latest chapters), right? Besides, that was the only way to write about her introduction to the Nura-gumi. I just wanted to say you guys can skip those parts if you want, because the parts dominated by Kana are more of her introduction to the guests and their companions as well as her first impressions about them, but you guys already know them all very well, so I'm quite sure you'll be bored and annoyed to read that. That's why I wanted to prevent you from wasting your time with something that might displease you and maybe even make you want to abandon the reading (but please, don't do that TT3TT). Because, also much like the prologue, this chapter has not only RikuKana, but RikuTsura ship tease, but it's by the very last part of it. And I worked hard on the RikuTsura, so I'd be quite sad if you didn't give your opinions about it.

PS: I have a little surprise for you at the bottom author note! Anyways, on with the chapter:

~o0o~

It was surprising.

Ever since Kana had arrived at the Nura mansion, she had only been wearing her usual European clothes, aside from when she had gone to Hatsumoude at the Kokehime Jinja. That was why it had been quite the pleasant surprise to see her making her entrance at the meeting room with a completely traditional Japanese style. Watching her stand all by herself and bowing to everyone, while doing the same herself, Tsurara concluded that maybe her future mistress's intention had been to show everyone her Asian side to prove that, even though she had parted from Japan when she was still young and spent quite a while in another country, she hadn't yet forgotten about the place where she was born and that she could readapt easily. The aide had first thought the brunette would be in her usual western style because it would be something more uncommon for the guests to see, and so more alluring. But, now that she reflected better about it, everyone already knew Ienaga Kana was half-British, so they would already be expecting such a thing, even because she had already worn those kinds of European clothes for the first welcoming event that was made for her. And Kana had probably anticipated that, so she had decided to come out in the exact opposite of everyone's expectations. Smiling knowingly, Tsurara cast her master a look to see what his reaction was at his fiancée's good job.

Kana's preparation that time was quite a bit different from the one she had worn for Hatsumoude. This time, she wouldn't commit the same mistake of dressing up simply, but of course, she wouldn't wear anything extravagant, either. She had also thought that would be the perfect occasion to start wearing one of the expensive kimono Rikuo had bought her some days before with the kind help of her future mother-in-law. The one she had picked had been a beautiful light green furisode with stamps of weeping tree branches, various flowers and some ripples here and there representing water, tied in a light yellow obi that had stamps of butterflies. Her hair was tied up in an agemaki with some flowery ornaments complementing it. Her make-up wasn't strong, but this time, it was more implemented than general. It wasn't necessary to say everyone was giving her approval for the work on their own way of showing it. But the problem was that the serious and the coolness of their eyes didn't make it as easy for the Ienaga heiress to see.

It was terrifying.

Ever since she had learned her future husband was a Yakuza leader, Kana had understood she would have to deal with all sorts of people when she inevitably became involved with such matters through their marriage. For that reason, she had constantly asked her parents and mother-in-law-to-be what they knew about that world so that she could earn some of their experience, since she didn't have courage to talk about those matters with the leader himself. Still, she could have never guessed reality could be so much more pressure-adding than what she had been warned about. In fact, now that she was facing some of the people she would have to get along with later on, she felt like she had been immersed in a horror book. The more she looked at the scene before her, the more nervous, anxious and insecure she felt. As she mustered all of her courage to do something as simple as walk, she hoped the way she was trembling wouldn't affect her pace or posture, for they were supposed to be as lady-like as possible. She also prayed that it wouldn't disturb her balance, for the zouri she had picked to wear were a little taller than usual. And, as much as she had constantly told herself to only look at the man of her affections so that she would feel more motivated to go on and wouldn't be disturbed by everyone else, she couldn't help but glance at her sidelines as she walked.

On her left side, there was a considerably big old man who she certainly couldn't mistake – it was definitely the current head of the Ooshuu Toono Ikka, Toono Akagappa. Her father used to make a few jokes about the huge size of his head and its reddish rosy color. He also liked to assimilate the Toono leader's features to the ones of a kappa, which was an a slightly cruel implication with his name. Kana had never thought the elder would be exactly how he had been described. To her, he almost looked like a monster with the face he had, and the way he dressed – in a worn-out ochimusha – didn't add anything good to that aspect.

After him, there was a bald middle-aged man. Also due to his appearance, Kana assumed that he was Mokugyo Daruma, one of the Soudaishou's counselors, the head of the Daruma-kai and one more of the targets of her father's jokes. According to him, the counselor looked a lot like a dharma doll, so he also made ironic puns regarding his appearance by comparing it with his name. But, in fact, with the man's Chinese-styled moustache and beard, oddly-shaped eyebrows and nose, round cheeks, and almost inexistent small mouth, he really did resemble the strangely-designed doll. Kana had always imagined him to be funny to look at because of that, but she concluded it was rather bizarre by facing the real thing.

Beside him was a muscular man that looked younger than him, but not quite healthier. In fact, he seemed very careless with a badly-done beard and a rather weird and messy hair tied in a high ponytail. His clothes were loose and wrinkled, and just like his face, made him look like he had just woken up. Beside him was a considerably big cheap Sake bottle, which obviously wasn't being served as a drink for a breakfast, so she assumed he had brought it with him. A Sake-loving carefree man – Kana concluded that must have been Dassai. As Wakana had said, he was a bit dense and constantly raised his voice or made inappropriate comments, but was a good man. Still, Kana's first thought about him could only be one word: "filthy".

Trying hard not to grimace, she decided to calmly avert her eyes to the other side so that she could spare them from such an unpleasant sight.

The first person sitting on her right side was an old man with a well-built body. Since his hair was the only one in a chonmage, Kana didn't have to think twice – he was certainly Hitotsume Nyuudou, the head of the Dokuganki-gumi, owner of the Kokehime Jinja and legal guardian of the Kokehime Miko. With his strong arms crossed, he held the same intimidating stare Kana's parents and Wakana had once described, which sent shivers up her spine. She wondered how such a man, whose appearance seemed to scream "brute" and "self-centered", could be in charge of an innocent little child who she once had the pleasure of meeting.

Following him was someone Kana also couldn't mistake. His long hair and feminine face already gave it all away that he was Oosaru Hihi, the current head of the Kantou Oosaru-kai, which was also known as Hihi-gumi. Whenever her father had commented about him, he would always point out how feminine he looked, despite his rather huge size and strength. What didn't help it was that the Oosaru leader liked to let his hair grow freely, but since it disturbed his field of vision, he kept his bangs tied with two really girly pink laces, so one indeed could think he was a woman had he not been hiding his face. Her father had also said Hihi used to wear a mask to hide his face exactly because of its features, but of course he couldn't wear it while eating, since it had no opening for his mouth. Still, even though Kana thought he was quite interesting to look at – mostly because, at first, she had mistaken him for a woman – she would have been quite grateful if he had been wearing that mask, because, even if it wasn't his intention, his stare at her seemed rather frightening.

Next, there was a very cool-blooded-looking man, whose face was half-hidden by his long black hair – that was the trait that had allowed her to recognize him as no one other than Umewakamaru Gyuuki, the leader of the Gyuuki-gumi. He was, pretty much like the others, tall and well-built and had a characteristic look that made Kana's throat feel like there was a knot forming in it. Similar to Hihi, he looked like he was on his forties and was staring at her with a rather frightening look. As she had heard from her parents, in the past, he used to be an assassin. Kana thought his dim appearance couldn't suit his nature more, for it seemed to be very dim as well.

Feeling the urge to look away again, Kana turned her head a little to the other side, and was a bit relieved to have found someone that didn't seem so distant from her in terms of age. But that changed as soon as she noticed his glance towards her didn't seem like he thought the same – in fact, he was one of the people in the room that seemed to look at her the worst way. She wondered how someone that didn't seem older than sixteen could have such a heartless glance. And, because of the thin scar crossing his face and the fact there was a small dog sleeping peacefully beside him, she remembered who he was – Inugami-gyoubu Tamazuki, the former head of the Shikoku Hachijuuhakki Yakou, who had been betrayed by the ones he once considered followers. According to Wakana, that scar had been made by Rikuo himself in a previous conflict they had had, and Kana couldn't help but think the damage on such an exposed area of his body served him right.

Then, beside him was another odd sight – a woman dressed in a black kimono, with her white obi and nagajuban as contrast, as if she was mourning for something. She had long and perfect black hair that cascaded down the floor smoothly and an incredibly pale skin that didn't seem natural (or healthy) by any means. Her appearance was, overall, extremely impacting, in a level that not even the woman Kana had once considered to have beaten her mother in beauty could reach. Immediately, with widened eyes, Kana had a mixed feeling of both admiration and envy towards her as well. She was like the embodiment of an incredibly enchanting darkness, and, unlike the woman that went by the name of Oikawa Setsura, it seemed that no one could ever surpass her in beauty. But still, no matter how amazing she was, her eyes were just the same as everyone's. Since they were completely black and, surprisingly, didn't have any sighs of light in them, she looked much more like a Shinigami than a woman, her gaze making Kana's insides feel like they were twisting in disturbance. But, unlike the others, she held a smile – one that Kana wasn't able to read, so she wasn't able to tell if it was ironical or welcoming, but it was most likely the first one. She then understood that was Hagoromo Gitsune, one of the supporting allies of the Nura-gumi, current head of the Hyaku Monogatari-gumi and the twin sister of the Nura-gumi's Nidaime's first wife. From what Kana had learned, she was a very gorgeous but equally dangerous woman, and now she had just had the chance to confirm that.

After her was, coincidentally, the woman Kana had been previously comparing her to, sitting right between her and the current Nura mistress. As always, it impressed Kana quite a bit how that woman had still not presented big changes in her appearance, not even a single white hair, despite her age. And, unlike Wakana, who held a very supportive and friendly smile, Setsura had her white furisode's yuki over her mouth, so Kana couldn't read her expression. Still, by the way her cheeks and eyes moved, she was most likely smiling. Realizing that, Kana had to policy herself not to make a face again. Was she making fun of her? There was no other reason Kana could think of for her to hide a smile. Already annoyed, she didn't even want to look at the next person, who was the daughter of the insolent woman. The thought of soon becoming her superior made her feel better inside, though, but in a smug way.

The next person was a considerably tiny old man, whose figure was almost comical. Because of that, the way he frowned so seriously at her could be threatening, but not as much as the others. Due to his disproportional stature, she assumed he was another of her father's targets for jokes, Karasu Tengu, the general supervisor and the closest subordinate to the Soudaishou. And, indeed, he was also just like her parents had described – small yet extremely rigid and centered, which made him quite a bit adorable somewhat. But that still didn't change the fact he was doing the same thing as the other guests and making her feel nervous as never before (on his own way).

Their judging stares were nightmare-ish. They felt like they were burning her slowly, torturing her in all their cruelty as they analyzed her every detail. And, maybe it was just her overreacting, but she could swear each and every one of them was laughing at her back somehow. Within every step she took, it became harder and harder to go forward, since the more she walked, the more their eyes seemed to persuade her into backing off as her heart pounded so loudly it seemed like it would rip her chest apart any time. Soon, she was feeling ill all over again, her experiences from the night before were coming back to her. In short, she just wanted to disappear from there, her legs itching to make her turn on her heels and run away the quickest she could.

But she wouldn't.

She had long promised herself she would never run away from whatever was on the way of her happiness. She had also swore she would become a wife worthy of Nura Rikuo, so the test she was having now was one of the essential parts of her development's process. After all, what good would be a wife that didn't want to understand her husband's world? She couldn't afford to just turn her back at most of his life. If that was a part of him, it would become a part of her as well, no matter how disgusting it could seem to her. But if he was capable of making it seem like it was acceptable and somewhat even fun, then she wouldn't be the one to disagree. Maybe he could later on show her the better side of it. Besides, she would also have to get used to atmospheres like these, since there would be a lot more of those moments in the future. Then again, what would they be, compared to a lifetime of joy? On the brighter side, soon, all of those people would be sitting at the Nura mansion's ceremony hall, honoring her wedding, respecting and treating her the same way they did with her arranged husband – she could already even picture the scene.

Trying her hardest to go on, Kana struggled to stay still and keep her head up, the positive thoughts making her feel much more confident for a little while.

Beside Karasu Tengu was the Soudaishou of the Nura-gumi himself and her future father-in-law, the one she had wanted to cause the greatest impression of all that room. His looks were just like how she remembered from the last time they had met, with some differences – she was now taller than him, so he looked smaller, he had less hair on his rather long head and he seemed to have gained more facial marks. As he gave her his lop-sided signature smile, typical of a man of such an advanced age, she felt like a weight had just been lifted off her tense shoulders, easing her a little. His sympathy for her was just the same as always, so that was already enough for her.

After returning his smile for a little, she couldn't help but allow herself a look on someone that had been bothering the corners of her eyes. When she dared to spare a glance at the busybody head aide, she thought she would regret it, but in fact, what happened was the opposite. As cautious hazel orbs landed on the figure of the servant, she found out the girl had her attention to somewhere else. And, before she had time to look away, she was caught by the girl's sky blue stare, since she seemed to have sensed her mistress-to-be's eyes on her. Her immediate response was to give her a full-fledged, motivational smile – one even brighter than Wakana's or Nurarihyon's, but with a hint of bitterness Kana failed to perceive. The gentle gesture in such a good timing had the heiress quite touched, and so she didn't think twice before returning it. Now more than ever, Kana was willing to award her attendee-to-be for her support, not only for the previous night, but for that morning as well.

When she averted her eyes to the side again, the one she first laid her eyes on surprised her. He was overall small, but judging by his appearance, Kana assumed it was just because he was still very young, for she wouldn't give him more than twelve years of age. That, together with the obnoxious birth mark on his left eye and the white bandana with blue stamps of cat paws on his head, was also the trait that made it easy for her to recognize him. He was most likely Ryouta Neko, the head of the Bakeneko-gumi and owner of Bakenekoya, the place where she and Rikuo had been to before he earned his injuries. She hadn't had the pleasure to have met him personally until the time being, and she was quite surprised that he was as adorable and boyish as the rumors said, no matter how serious he was trying to be.

The last guest she looked at, who she had already met many times before, including the night when Rikuo was hurt, was Yakushi Zen, head of the Yakushi-ippa and Nura-gumi's best medic, whose life was sadly being affected by serious health problems. He was one of the Nura-gumi's Kashimoto and Rikuo's first and only Gikyoudai, so it was needless to say the two of them were really close. Zen was also probably the person that understood Rikuo the best, and right behind him was obviously Tsurara, but that was something Kana was more than determined to change. What the purple-haired man held was also a collected and examining expression, but much like Ryouta Neko's, his wasn't the slightest bits scary (she could even spot a little hint of friendliness in it).

And then, finally, there **he** was. With her heart starting to pound a little loudly again, she let her chocolate eyes travel to the main seat, which was being occupied by the Nura-gumi's Wakagashira himself in all his glory. With her smile wavering a little stupidly, she had expected to find his usual protective, warm burgundy look to awake in her even more confidence and security than the other people that had already done so. That was why there couldn't be a bigger letdown at that moment than seeing that blessed look of his was being carelessly cast somewhere else. Rather, at some**one** else. When she followed his deep and constant stare, she was almost irritated at herself for not being surprised at all to find out he had been observing his head aide with eyes that only raised her wish to fade in a puff of smoke to somewhere far away.

"Rikuo-kun... please..." her own voice in her thoughts was helpless and pleading, "I'm right here... look at me..."

Why was it that he always looked at that girl so differently? What was the reason behind the unusual shine in his eyes and that longing kindness? Kana feared so much to understand such a thing, yet she couldn't help but think about it for more time than she would like to admit. Whatever was the place the raven-haired aide had in his heart, she was sure it was special. And, as selfish as it could be, she wanted to steal it all for herself, being the only one he would actually notice.

And she was willing to make that happen.

Frowning as she saw in him no signs of looking forward, despite the fact she was about just a few steps away, she decided to step the slightest bits harder and make her tall zouri collide a little louder with the wooden floor. By then, her voice in her head wasn't faltering or begging anymore – it was firm and demanding, just like her eyes towards him, almost like a mute shout she had been wanting to let out long ago. And, this time, she would make it reach him.

"Look at me!"

At that very second, she didn't know if it was a coincidence or if she had actually been able to make him snap back into the present time, but her trial had worked out well. As soon as her mind let out the long-held cry, the Sandaime's eyes were all hers. He finally noticed her presence coming closer, raising his head to look at her with an encouraging expression, one that could beat the previous smiles she had received quite easily. It was his usual handsome smirk, which bore much more support than she could ever ask for, and that was what made her the happiest about it. With her heart about to overflow with emotions, she almost let out a few tears as a satisfied grin made its way to her lips. And then, unexpectedly, he extended his hand to her, as if he had guessed she would have problems trying to sit with her tall zouri. Trying to keep calm and graceful, she accepted it with contained joy.

The moment had been so magical she had almost wanted it to last forever.

After that, the breakfast went on quite smoothly, much better than Kana had thought it would be. But, of course, the fearsome atmosphere was still there. However, she was feeling much better now that she was by her future husband's side, so she would be able to handle it. Of course, that didn't mean she was completely well, and she would probably not be as long as she was still in that room. The loud chattering and laughs, the slight stench and the frantic servants circulating the area weren't adding anything good up.

"Kana-chan, aren't you gonna eat?"

"E-Eh?" she raised her head to look at her arranged man, not knowing how to answer his sudden question. "I..." she began, hesitantly. "already had breakfast." was her truthful yet doubtful response, her eyes back to her lap as she sensed him raising a brow at her.

"Say, are you..." she flinched at the concern in his voice, "still sick?"

"O-Of course not." She lied pathetically, restraining her posture even more with a blush. Was he that perceptive before? No, maybe it was just her who was too obvious.

"Don't worry, Kana-sama." From behind her, the head aide smiled reassuringly as she changed Nurarihyon's gohan bowl, "It'll end soon."

"T-Thank you." The chocolate-haired one said with a shy smile, and then went back to staring at her hands, already oblivious of the hateful feelings she was having towards the young subordinate earlier, for she now found herself with something that was, in her opinion, much better than the look Rikuo had been giving her before.

"By the way, Kana-chan," Rikuo said softly, "that kimono... I'm glad you're wearing it."

Hearing that, the brown orbs of the Ienaga heiress became the size of a pea as her cheeks became beet red, and she couldn't help but turn her head to look at him again to see if he was actually saying the truth, surprise and flattery written on her face. "I-I-Is that so...?" she sputtered, despising the way she acted so childishly around him. Nevertheless, the indescribable glee deep inside her could make it up for that. She was also feeling silly for being so happy, but it was not like she could do anything against that.

After all, she and her arranged husband were finally looking like a real couple again.

The way they were sitting so closely together, the way he spoke about something he had bought her, the way some people looked at them and commented discreetly about how their relationship seemed to be going well – it all reminded her of the night at Bakenekoya, before that unfortunate accident, when everyone was thinking the two of them were lovers. It also pretty much reminded her of the evening before, when she and her friend Jirou had been mistaken for a couple by a nurse at the Kokehime Jinja. Indeed, the feeling she was having at the present moment was much better – it was even able to ease her feeling of sickness a little bit more.

By then, Kana felt like the tables were finally turning to her side. That morning was the first moment she had ever had all for her and her fiancé without the interference of the indigo-eyed servant and of herself with the troubles she would always get into. Now, the people that had been practically trying to murder her with glares seemed to have become a little restrained towards her after seeing how she and her white-haired "knight-in-shiny-armor" got along so well.

What she didn't know was that he had only made the comment because of a gesture Tsurara had done at her furisode.

~o0o~

The following half-an-hour or so was reasonable. The Ienaga daughter spent most of her time talking to her spouse-to-be, Wakana and Nurarihyon, while some times she would stop to give attention to some of the guests, who would ask her to tell them a little more about herself. Some had asked her about her family, some had asked about her age, some had asked about how her trip back had been, and some asked about her and Rikuo. Obviously embarrassed about the last topic, Kana had some difficulties on that matter, but the Wakagashira had done her the great favor to take the lead in those occasions. And one of the things that had her wondering deeply about was how he had been so secure when he affirmed everything was okay between them. Anyone could have perfectly thought he was saying they had established a "couple" sort of relationship by that statement and by looking at them, but was it really so?

It couldn't be.

As much as they looked like a couple, Kana was certain they had a long way to **becoming** one, for obvious reasons. One of them was that it had barely been a week they had met again, so there hadn't been enough time for them to even catch up properly, let alone start a romantic relationship. After all, after Sandaime found himself physically unstable, and so unable to spend time hanging around with her as he had promised, he had decided to come back to his very busy work-life, for he had no time to lose. Meanwhile, the Ojou decided to fill up her own free time to take lessons about her up-coming routine as housewife from Wakana and her female subordinates. Another was that Kana's own affinity for getting into trouble had already ruined her chances to become closer to him in a romantic way two times. And the other was that the other chances she had were ruined by a third party, who wasn't worth being mentioned, exactly because said party was the worst threat to anything that could possibly represent a relationship between the heiress and her future groom.

In other words, when Rikuo said everything was okay, he could have perfectly been just talking about the simple fact nothing bad had happened between them – at least, nothing that could break them apart. That was one of the things Kana was grateful for, because it seemed that, to Rikuo, once he formed a bond with someone, he had do his best not to let it break. Yet that was one of the things that worried her about their relationship as well, because it also seemed that, once he formed a bond with someone, it would hardly become something else.

Still, she didn't want to let something like that make her feel down.

By the end of the meal, the guests dismissed themselves. With the exception of Daruma, who had come alone and already lived at the main house, the others made their way to the house's main entrance, where their respective companions were waiting for them after having their own meal, followed by the Sandaime, the Soudaishou and the future Nura mistress, while the current one stayed to help the servants clean everything. While walking through the corridors right behind the two Nura leaders, Kana was still deeply immersed in thoughts.

In the eyes of those people, who had come there with the idea of seeing the two of them becoming a married couple soon, they already looked like one, and to her, that was what mattered for the time. After all, it meant she had been able to take one step closer to her main goal in life, since the Nura-gumi at last seemed like they were starting to support the once unwanted wedding. Even the servants that had seemed to be looking down on her before were now beginning to show signs of thinking otherwise, and that only added up to her motivation. If things went on like that – with everyone starting to actually accept her – soon, her only obstacle would be making the Sandaime himself see their relationship in a different way. After all, if his vision of it became the same as everyone seemed to be having, the most probably thing that could make a romance between them impossible wouldn't exist anymore.

The possibility of him falling for another woman.

~o0o~

"Oi, he's coming~!"

The hazel-eyed brunette's shoulders rose quickly at the sound of a rather loud masculine voice, which she couldn't see from who it belonged to because of the people walking in front of her. But she was certain that whoever had spoken was one of the companions of one of the special guests of the day. After all, not only it was coming from the place the companions were supposed to be at, but also said voice sounded much more carefree and lively than any other she had been able to hear during the breakfast, even Dassai's obnoxious one. And out of confusion about who was the "he" whoever had spoken was referring to, the heiress cast her fiancé a look that he didn't correspond. Still, the expression he held as he stared straight ahead already made it quite clear that person was him himself.

As soon as they arrived at the main entrance of the Nura mansion, the guests, the two Nura heads and the young Nura-to-be were welcomed by an atmosphere that completely distorted the one of earlier. With mostly warm smiles and laughs, the ones that had come accompanying their respective commanders strangely seemed to be the opposite of them. As Kana was finally able to see the scene, she concluded the contrast was quite noticeable, for the thick air of the room she had been earlier was long gone.

The first one that caught her attention was a green-haired man, who seemed to have been the one to speak first. His golden eyes were shining with tomboyish glee as he crossed his arms and flashed a wide grin while commenting something with the one beside him. Since Kana hadn't asked anything about the companions that were tagging along with the other Yakuza group leaders, she couldn't tell who he was. Still, by the way he was closer to the biggest amount of people, she assumed he and they were the oh-so-famous Ooshuu Toono Ikka.

The second one to catch her eyes was obviously the man beside him. With a pudgy nose and a beard that connected with his brown, messy hair, the one tapping his elbows on the golden-eyed man and laughing with him had a rather ape-like sort of appearance. With a big smile, red tribal-like painting on his cheeks and round ears, that was the sort of impression the unknown man gave the heiress – of a monkey. But, nevertheless, she wasn't scared of him at all. In fact, she found herself giggling a little at how joy and playful he and his comrade seemed.

Close to them was a small girl with very short black hair tied in a high bun and shine-less eyes that stood in the middle of the group, her features taking away any suspicions that she could be just an adult with possible growth problems. Already taking a liking of her because of her cute and innocent appearance that resembled the Kokehime Miko's, Kana was more than shocked to notice the little girl had quite the wicked tongue as she heard her include herself in the conversation of her comrades without the same discreetness they had, and throwing around some inappropriate and blunt comments. With her first impressions destroyed, the brunette mentally prepared herself for whatever could come next as she kept on looking.

The next person caught in her field of vision was an ashy blond young man. Much like the other two, he was tall and muscular, but also opposite of them, his facial features and hair style were quite a bit feminine. Still, they suited him surprisingly well, and even made him look more handsome than them somehow. While he listened to his friends' talk, he constantly chewed on a thin stick. And, as something funny seemed to have been said, he flashed a smile that made the heiress's cheeks heat up slightly as she averted her eyes to the floor in embarrassment. That man really was quite attractive, but not as much as her Rikuo, she decided while blushing a little harder. She wasn't taking much notice of how shameful her thoughts of self-encouragement were, and it was with them in mind that she was able to regain courage to raise her eyes. Ironically, they seemed to have landed on the same person, which made her blush return. But it was only after she looked a little better that she understood it actually wasn't the same person, for the person she was staring at didn't have a stick on their mouth. And as she examined better, she was able to see that the person she had laid her eyes upon seemed to be the attractive blond man's twin sister, who was also very beautiful herself, almost like a female version of her sibling.

Beside them was a brunet with a red bandana that seemed to be a little younger than them. He wasn't as tall or muscular and his features pointed out he was somewhere near Rikuo's own age, if not a little younger. He also seemed to be the more reserved and observant person of the group, with his arms folded across his chest and a silent air around him. And by the looks of it, he didn't seem like the distant type of person at all – it was the other way around – but he indeed seemed to be hard to reach, since even with his comrades, he was obviously minding his actions and words, keeping his personal space and not talking much. For being that different from the rest, Kana thought he could be quite the alluring one. And, as her blush refused to disappear, she tried to get a hold of herself and stop paying so much attention to the males since she already had her heart taken. But, as soon as she led her gaze to the second biggest group in the room, she concluded such a thing was most likely impossible.

As she stared at what she took to be a part of the Bakeneko-gumi (since all of the members wore on their head the same cat paw-stamped bandanas their leader had), the presence of other males – those ones seeming a little young – kept bothering her and her stubborn insistence of trying not paying much mind to them. It didn't take long for her to give up on that, though the ones that had caught her attention in that group had been mostly the females, especially because of their different hair styles. One of them, a green-eyed young woman, had her long blond hair tied in pigtails with ribbons cascading their way down around them. Another one had her hair dyed with a flashy shade of pink and cut short. But the one that seemed more intriguing, in Kana's opinion, was a girl with purely white mid-length hair tied neatly behind her head, for her ruby red eyes and excessively pale skin made it clear she was an albino.

Next to them were two boys that seemed to be around her age, but even though they were muscled, they did have some childish features, and although they seemed a bit taller than her, they were surely shorter than Rikuo. One of them looked serious and cool, almost holding an adult-like composure, which was the opposite of the other boy, who looked rather lively and playful. Said lively and playful-looking one could only be differed as a male because of his clothing, since his appearance seemed to be much like Oosaru Hihi's – feminine. Maybe that was the reason why the upper half of his face was hidden within a horse skull he wore over his head, as strange as it could be (but then again, "normal" would never be a fitting word for a Yakuza). As for the collected young man, he had dark brown eyes and hair, which was tied just like the one of the albino girl of a moment before, only with one difference: he used a part of it to cover one of his eyes, much like Umewakamaru Gyuuki did. Because of that and because of the air he seemed to give, which also resembled Gyuuki's quite a bit, Kana assumed he and the other young man were his followers.

Not far from them was an outstanding young man. He seemed to be, overall, the biggest of the accompaniers, and the fact he had a black hood over his head only seemed to make him draw more attention, though it was probably meant to have the opposing effect. But even with the hood, his face was still visible, and it was quite the handsome one, but had some feminine features, which reminded her of Oosaru Hihi. That, together with his rather huge structure, was what made it possible for Kana to assume he was his relative – most likely his younger brother or son. And, much like his face, part of his hair was also visible, and she couldn't help but find it amusing that it seemed to be naturally white, but had beautiful crimson highlights contrasting with it and making it impossible not to be noticed.

After him, there was what seemed to be a mother with her children – a little family, which was probably Karasu Tengu's. He, who lived at the main house, had gone on the trip not only to accompany the Soudaishou, but also to fetch his wife, who lived at Takao-san, to where he and three of his children only returned once a year. His wife, who was very beautiful, was pretty much on Setsura's level – she seemed to be a rather zealous yet somewhat cold housewife. But, unlike the original "Yuki Onna", her taste was more extravagant and a little dark, as she was dressed in black clothes and had black ornamental crow feathers on her inky raven hair. Amazed, Kana observed her carefully, especially the two light pink, outstanding strands of hair framing her delicate face and the interesting feathers on her tied hair. While she was at it, the heiress also watched as the mother seemed to be patiently adjusting the tokin of one of her children. Said child was the only one that could be distinguished as female, since the other two standing beside her were clearly young men, and the ones being carried on a bag hanging on her back Kana couldn't tell, for they were mere infants.

The one whose tokin was being adjusted was a pretty young woman, though she was not yet apt enough to surpass her mother's beauty. In fact, the two of them didn't have many similarities to each other, so Kana could only guess she had taken a little bit after her father too, believing his features could be more like his daughter's when he was in his younger years. She wore glasses, and, much like her two brothers and mother, she seemed to have a diligent personality. Yet she and her siblings seemed to be more comfortable with the atmosphere of the main house, which was only the expected, since it could be considered their second home.

The other sibling, who also didn't look much like his parents, was a rather funny sight, since his quiet and centered behavior didn't seem to match his taste. After all, his hair, which had two peculiar colors, – yellow and green – was on the shape of a very indiscreet and gaudy tosaka, and his pitch black thick eyebrows had a very odd, spiky format. With her furisode's yuki in front of her mouth, Kana held herself back not to share some giggles at him, for he was an important and respectable Nura member, just like everyone else – or at least, he was supposed to be.

Lastly, the other young man, who wore a tokin just like his sister, seemed to be the only one who was actually somewhat able to resemble Karasu Tengu a little. But even so, with his spiky black hair and shiny onyx eyes, he was more like a male and young version of his mother. His expressions also matched with the rest of his family's (save the babies) and his observant and calm air made him seem quite mature as well. That, together with his rather slightly feminine features, made him look quite a bit cute in the heiress's opinion, as she mentally slapped herself.

"Heeeh, it's really him!" another one shouted, "Rikuo~! You've grown up, you little bastard!"

As the last statement was caught in Kana's ears, she flinched slightly and frowned deeply at the word "bastard". Trying to find the one had said such a thing of her beloved, whoever they were, she immediately swore she would make them regret ever insulting him, until she heard a response before she could do anything.

A laugh.

As Kana spared a side-glance at her arranged man, all she could do was feel a little stupid for her last thoughts, since he didn't seem the slightest bits offended – in fact, he looked more like he had missed hearing something like that being thrown at him. Then could it be... that insults were viewed as a friendly way for his comrades to treat him? Maybe, she decided with a sigh. However, that was quite different from what she had witnessed at the breakfast earlier – even though the older ones were familiar with Rikuo, they didn't act as intimate of him, and neither did the younger guests, Zen, Ryouta Neko, or Tamazuki. But perhaps the older ones really weren't as intimate of Rikuo, most likely because of the great difference of ages and way of thinking. Besides, most of them had joined Nura-gumi during the times the Soudaishou and the Nidaime were the ones to shine as the Nura leaders, so they were most likely closer to them than to the current head. And since Zen and Ryouta Neko seemed more comfortable now that they were among people of their own age, Kana took it as a proof they were just restraining themselves during the meal time.

Thinking about it a little further, she finally perceived that in the main house, the only people actually Rikuo's age were she herself and his personal aide. The others, regardless of how they could look young, were in fact older. Maybe that could explain why he was much closer to Tsurara than to anybody else, and it also could mean that, if Kana tried harder, she did have a good chance of taking the position of the closest person to him. With the simple idea of being just as intimate of her future husband as her undeclared enemy was, she let herself smile, the feeling of smug happiness returning to her. And said happiness only increased she watched the younger accompaniers approach their Soudaishou-to-be so friend and welcomingly, and the way he responded to it.

Kana now seemed to have understood that the Yakuza world – at least, the one surrounding the Nura-gumi – was divided in two sides: the dark and cruel one, filled with blood-shedding and conquests, and the bright and lively one, in which the bonds of companionship seemed to be almost unbreakable. And now that she thought about it, everyone at the main house had been showing that to her ever since she had met them – she only hadn't realized that. But now, experiencing such a great difference of environment, she had finally perceived what she had been missing without knowing.

Needless to say, she liked the side she was seeing much better.

"Excuse me, Ojou-san, but who might you be?" in the midst of her many thoughts, Kana would have lost herself in her own mind with the scene before her, had she not heard someone's voice from beside her asking such question. "Could it be... you are 'the one'~?"

"Eh?" immediately, the brunette turned around at the source of the unknown feminine voice that spoke to her in such a friendly manner. The one she found a little bit too close to her was a pretty young woman that seemed to be a few years older than her. The first thing that caught Kana's attention to her was her unmistakably natural pink hair, tied in twin buns and braids. The other was her shiny, metallic yellow eyes, which observed her with curiosity. It was then that Kana noticed they had ringed orbs, which was a very particular trait that reminded her of a certain someone – not only that, but her porcelain-like white skin and her cheerful smile were familiar as well.

Almost like...

"She's the current Nura bride, if that's what you're asking about, Reira." another feminine voice said from the heiress's other side, making her turn around abruptly to face whoever was its owner, and finding exactly who she was expecting. "The Ienaga's only daughter, Ienaga Kana-chan."

At the kind honorific, Kana frowned for a second, but regained her composure in time not to be noted. Taking the liberty of acting so familiarly with her... was she making fun of her yet again? If so, just who did that "Yuki Onna" think she was?

"Ara, is that so, Setsura-san?" the so-called "Reira" asked, as if for confirmation.

"Yep, that is so." out of the blue, the rightful owner of the young woman in question stepped in, as if he had magically teleported to behind her, with a rather nonchalant tone and expression. Nevertheless, it was still enough to make her jump slightly and almost shriek in surprise.

"R-Rikuo-ku...?!"

"Ah, I knew it!" Reira clapped her hands noiselessly, as if closing an imaginary book, "From the very second I saw her, it was clear for me. She already does look like a real Ojou-sama and Yome-san."

"Eh?" With her cheeks pink, Kana asked shyly, "I-Is that so?"

"Of course it is~!" another feminine voice, this time coming from Kana's front, affirmed rather enthusiastically. "You're so cute!"

"H-Heh...?!" becoming red, Kana turned around again to see the accompaniers had approached her without her noticing, but not invading her personal state at all. She soon found out the one who had spoken was the short-haired ashen blonde woman she had taken to be the twin sister of the man with a thin stick in his mouth. "Ah, th-thank you..." she finally replied, remembering her manners.

"Yeah, the only way Rikuo could ever score someone of your level would be through an arranged marriage." commented the little girl with the high bun, with a hand over a rather sly smile.

"Guh...?!" Sweat-dropping, the Wakagashira sputtered, "H-Hey, Yukari..."

"It's a pleasure to meet you personally, Ienaga Kana-sama." the young woman with glasses bowed politely, together with the young man with a tosaka and the one with a tokin on his head.

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you, too." Kana returned the bow a little clumsily, still blushing.

"Please take care of Rikuo-sama." she added.

"Ah," Caught by surprise by the request, the heiress couldn't give a proper response other than, "y-yes...!" but in her head, her answer was firm and strong, since her will to accept that job was quite big. And now, she seemed not to be able to reach any higher level of joy that day, just because of a simple yet very significant fact – they were actually entrusting Rikuo to her. It seemed that, much like what had happened in the breakfast, she was already being accepted as the new Nura wife. And it also seemed that those people thought she would be the one taking care of their master in the future, instead of a certain aide.

"Welcome to the family, Ojou-sama." another man, this time the one with a hood over his head, bowed to her slightly with a slightly shy smile – the last thing she would expect from someone with such an intimidating figure. "It seems now Tsurara-nee-san will finally be spared of some hard work."

"Yeah, looks like she doesn't need to look after you as much anymore." the brunet with the red bandana added, his arms still crossed.

Giggling a bit in response, Kana felt more than satisfied with the confirmation of her previous thoughts. But the feeling was gone as soon as she looked at the Sandaime, wanting to see his reaction to what had been said. And what she found wasn't very pleasing – he was eyeing his young allies with an almost blank expression, as if carefully trying to process what he had just heard from them.

Could it be he didn't like the idea...?

As the heiress stopped to think a little better about it, she began to wonder if she herself should like the idea as well. After all, she knew those words were meant to motivate her to always look after her future husband as his personal servant did, but, wouldn't that be the same as saying she would be like a substitute for her? That could be exactly what she would become after they got married, wouldn't it? Because, when they started their life as newly-weds, she would most likely take the aide's position as the closest person in the world to him and many of the responsibilities regarding his welfare would fall upon her. And the worst of all – if that was really so, she would be bound to always be compared with the servant many times in the future, depending on how she would do her job as wife.

Then... that meant she would have to do a better work than Tsurara had ever done.

With her blood starting to boil and her hands forming fists inside of her nagajuban, her small inner conflict was transformed into pure determination yet again, as she was suddenly hit with a long and overwhelming desire – to surpass Oikawa Tsurara. Maybe the way she was now wasn't good enough to be a wife, maybe she was still very far from even reaching somewhere near the servant's level, maybe she would have countless difficulties trying to change (like she did earlier that morning). But nothing of that meant her task was impossible, only that it was a really hard one, which would only increase its value when she accomplished her goal. Yes, **when** she accomplished it. She could do it. That was what she believed...

"Hold on, you guys. Watch how you are talking there."

...until her arranged husband himself objected...

"It's like you're suggesting Kana-chan is here to replace Tsurara." With a frown that clearly showed annoyance and slight irritation, Rikuo crossed his arms, "I guess you still don't see it now, but the two of them are very different. Tsurara is Tsurara; Kana-chan is Kana-chan. And I think it's obvious Kana-chan doesn't need to go through any changes to be accepted in this household. Besides," as he lowered his head a little, it was impossible to see his eyes, due to his bangs covering them. But as he looked up again, the expression he held was so firm that his arranged bride doubted she had ever seen him so certain of anything in her life. And with that very face, he said everything she had prayed he wouldn't, "no one can ever replace Tsurara. That's why, even after Kana-chan and I get married, I won't lower Tsurara's position – she will continue to be the head aide and assist Kana-chan daily."

...and ruined the biggest part of her expectations for the years to come.

For a moment, Kana was more than glad everyone's attention seemed to be concentrated on their young leader, for she couldn't afford to let anyone see her face the way it was. After all, she was completely stupefied. And, as much as a part of her begged her to recompose herself while no one was looking, it seemed that it couldn't reach her senses so easily, so she took a little longer than she should to mask her feelings and return to her normal state. But even after she did, her mind was still very disturbed. Her arranged fiancé's words were too painful for her to hear, since he was indirectly affirming he was never letting go of his aide, even if he knew he wouldn't need her as much after getting married. And he knew that much – it was obvious to anyone Kana could perfectly take her place. Tsurara had always acted more like a wife to him than a servant, so when Kana became his wife for good, that would become **her** rightful spot.

Then that meant he didn't think she had a chance against his aide.

Perhaps it was just Kana's overreaction, but he could be implying he didn't think she would ever be able to reach his personal servant's level. After all, hadn't he said it himself she was supposed to be assisted daily? If that was what he really thought, to him, she would have to be forever under Tsurara's care. Or, on an even worse hypothesis, maybe he thought she could have a chance, but he didn't want to give it to her for the sake of keeping his aide close to him.

If either of those was true, Kana began to ponder about many things at the same time. Was she really that limited in his eyes? Was Tsurara really that much of a good worker? Did he really not want to let go of her that badly? The many questions in the poor heiress's head tormented her, and because of that, she tried to search in his words an answer to them. And while she did, the conversation continued, yet she couldn't bring herself to pay full attention to it as she blankly observed everybody, hearing them, but not actually listening to them. Thankfully, she seemed not to be the main subject anymore.

When Rikuo had started his little speech regarding his future wife and all-time aide, the one he was actually trying to defend was the Ienaga lady. After all, he did say she was not there to be a replacement, just nothing more than herself, and that he hoped everyone would accept her the way she was. By then, everything had been quite okay, and his words even made her feel flattered. But then things started to go the wrong way – it seemed, by the way he spoke, that he wanted to maintain his relationship with both her and his personal aide unaltered. And that was the same as him saying he wanted to keep his wife as his childhood friend forever. Then, did that mean he wanted Tsurara to be the one he would keep the closest to him? If that was so, then Kana's chances with him were close to none – and that was what he seemed to be indirectly affirming. Whether she would be a good wife for him or not, if her interpretation of his words was right, he had already decided who he really wanted by his side.

Either that or he was having difficulties accepting such a huge change in his daily life.

That could also be the reason, right? Rikuo had spent his entire life with that girl. Maybe having his fourteen years of life's routine change so drastically with a single event wouldn't be as easy for him as it was for his arranged fiancée. But with time, Kana knew she could carve her mark deep inside him. She just needed to try very hard, because it now seemed to be much more difficult than she had previously thought.

But then again, those were all just theories – she couldn't be sure about any of them just yet. She also didn't have enough courage to personally ask her fiancé himself to cease her doubts, so she was stuck with having to depend on whatever hints he could show next. Until then, the questions would still haunt her mind. What if she really didn't have almost any chance with him? Should she just give up? That could spare her of some incredibly painful experiences in the future, couldn't it?

"No...!" her thoughts burst up loudly. "I can't... give up just like that!"

With newly-found motivation washing over her whole body, the hazel-eyed one started to feel eager again. She wasn't a coward – she would not give up her future so easily. If her first thought was right, all she could do was fight her difficulties back with all her might instead of giving up. In the past, she had given up some opportunities life had given her, and she regretted that deeply, so she was certainly not doing the same again.

Moving to another country for a while was another thing that only made her more willing to win her beloved's heart – she had come to understand her feelings better after being separated from the one she wanted to be with the most. And she certainly wouldn't just forget about them and admit defeat that easily. So what if he could want another? Or if he could fear change? Or if for whatever other reason, her chances to actually gaining his heart were low? It still didn't mean she couldn't do anything about it. Those were just obstacles, and to her, obstacles existed to be overcome.

So overcome them she would, even if the biggest of them was her special person himself.

She had to give it a try, even if it could turn out to be just a fruitless attempt. After all, in the end, at least she would be able to say she did her best fighting to reach her goal, not that she just miserably surrendered for being afraid of getting hurt. But she didn't even want to think of failing as an option, for it would do nothing other than push her down. She would win – that was what she had decided that day, no matter how much she would still be hurt by him.

Because, with him as the big prize, no risk she could take would be worthless.

"B-But, Rikuo-sama... I've never said Kana-sama was a potential substitute for Nee-san." the embarrassed white and red-haired one shot his hands up in defense, "I meant now Nee-san finally has someone to share her loads of work with."

"Ah?" with slightly widened eyes, Rikuo seemed quite a bit surprised and somewhat sheepish for misunderstanding and making a bigger deal of what had been said than he should have made. "Really?"

"And I was only complementing what he had said."

"I-Is that so, Itaku?" the drop of sweat on his forehead had become visible.

As she finally snapped back into her normal self, the first thing Kana processed was the young man in the black hood and the one in the red bandana trying to make what they had said clearer, embarrassing her fiancé in the process. And she had to admit she felt much better with the actual meaning of their words than what she and her rightful man had taken them to be.

"Huuuh, who is this 'Nee-san' again...?" the monkey-faced man asked, obviously feeling left out and cluelessly scratching the back of his head, until he remembered the person in question. "Oh, yeah! The super-hot aide of yours~!"

"H-Hey, Dohiko..." Reira waved her hand slightly while sweat-dropping, as if gesturing for her comrade to mind his words.

With an arched brow, Kana couldn't help but stare skeptically at the ape-like man for a couple of seconds, not only disgusted by the way he spoke of one of her future subordinates, who was yet young to be considered attractive by an older man, but with a little hint of jealousy in her mind, which she tried to convince herself that didn't exist. Looking up at her arranged fiancé, she found it rather disturbing to see he had a small frown at his comrade's comment.

"Haa? 'Hot'? That flat Yukinko?" The one with a part of his glossy hair covering his face asked, trying to make a disgusted expression and putting a bit more emphasis on his own childish adaptation of the aide's nickname. For a moment, Kana had wanted to laugh at the sarcastic question and the way the young man referred to her undeclared enemy, but when she looked at him better, she could see a light blush on his cheeks as he added, "I don't think we're talking about the same person here."

"Is he lying? Does he actually like Oikawa-san's looks?" the heiress asked herself in her mind, her previous thoughts of how the brunet resembled Gyuuki forgotten. "Could he be a... tsundere...?" while wondering about her own questions, she couldn't help but cast another look at the white-haired Wakagashira. Again, his reaction wasn't very pleasing, for his frown had deepened and one of his hands was about to form a fist, as if he was holding himself back not to argue with what had been said. She had to admit she was becoming quite a bit irritated with where the conversation was going because of that.

But, when she thought a little better about it, wasn't that exactly how Rikuo was supposed to react to someone insulting an old friend of his? What if she herself was in the aide's place? She was almost sure he would have behaved the same way, since he had always been the type of person that wouldn't let his friends receive those kinds of critics. Besides, there wasn't much difference between his reactions and Tsurara's mother's, who also looked like she was on the verge of taking the initiative to go teach the boy a lesson, but it seemed like she was holding herself back in respect of whoever he was accompanying.

"Oh, yeah, Gozumaru... I've always wanted to ask... why do you call her 'Yukinko', anyways?" Zen asked matter-of-factly with an arched brow.

"Isn't it obvious?" Crossing his arms, the one who went by the name of "Gozumaru" lowered his eyelids as he answered simply, "She isn't suited to be called something as mighty and frightening as a 'Yuki Onna'."

Hearing that, Kana sweat-dropped, together with a few other people. She was sure that she wasn't the only one that had noticed Gozumaru looked like he was trying to imply hints of disdain for the aide. Still, his words were ambiguous, despite his body language – she wasn't mighty or frightening or anything of that sort, but wasn't that a good thing? Wasn't he indirectly saying what actually suited her was a cuter and lighter nickname, such as "Yukinko"? If that was really it, the heiress's suspicions were right – he was quite the tsundere and most likely had a certain interest for the hardworking aide.

"But then why don't you just call her 'Tsurara' instead?" the one with a horse skull on his head asked with a rather mischievous smile. "It's a cute name~!"

"Ugh...!" awkwardly, the brunet seemed to have run out of words to speak back as he lamely sputtered, "L-Like I would ever do that, stupid Mezu!"

Not able to hold back anymore, Kana giggled with herself discreetly. Surely she was a little disappointed the subject of the conversation had suddenly changed from her to her rival, yet she couldn't help but enjoy seeing everyone share laughs at the dark brown-haired youngster's obvious embarrassment. And as she looked again at both her arranged husband and the retired "Yuki Onna", she was impressed at how their faces had changed so quickly. Rikuo was now smirking at how Gozumaru's words had been turned against him and Setsura seemed to be having fun seeing how he reacted to the little provocations everyone was starting to make. She also looked rather amused with the young underling's possible interest in her daughter (which was something the Wakagashira seemed to be completely unaware of).

It was good while it lasted, but the happy chattering and jokes were soon interrupted by the sound of the old main gates of the mansion being opened, giving free path for a fancy western-styled carriage to enter. It was only then that Kana noticed the special guests, with the exception of Setsura, Zen and Ryouta Neko, had gathered near the gate, as if they had been expecting the carriage the whole time while giving space for the young ones to have their own time together.

Everybody watched the beautiful black carriage move elegantly (even on the uneven ground), the two white horses that pulled it being skillfully handled by a very serious and composed gyosha. As the heiress observed his perfect posture, which refused to sway within the movements of the carriage, she couldn't help but wonder if the old and muscular grey-haired gyosha was a member of Hagoromo Gitsune's Kumi.

By the moment the carriage stopped near the group of youngsters, the gyosha politely bowed as far as his sitting position allowed him to, greeting them. And as everyone responded in the same level, they noticed one of the curtains of the carriage being pulled open by considerably tiny hands, following by a rather adorable face sticking out with a childish, cheeky smile. Another little girl, Kana concluded. That one had peculiar, reptile-like golden eyes and long, curly raven hair. Her smile, which let her canines show, made the heiress's eyes grow a little wide in admiration as the word "cute" was chanted in her head.

"Good morning, minna-sama! Ah!" not giving time for replies, the little one waved happily at someone coming from the opposing side, "Onee-sama! We've come to pick you up~!"

"Just in time, Kyoukotsu." Harogomo Gitsune's voice could be heard as she classily walked up to her carriage, smiling warm and gently at her young subordinate, like a mother would smile at her child, completely contrasting the creep and frosty smile she had given the Ienaga lady a while before.

"I see. So the witch does have a heart." Kana thought with herself, frowning yet again as she half-hid her face behind her kimono's yuki. "I wonder why she didn't show it to me. Perhaps... she thinks I'm not worth it?" smiling a little with herself, she added the possible dislike the beautiful woman could have of her to the list of things she was supposed to change in that household.

Much to the heiress's content, right after she made that decision, it didn't take long for said Yamato Nadeshiko to bid her good-byes for the time being as she hopped on her expensive carriage and left to her own mansion, which was located on a slope not very far away. The carriage's disappearing figure was observed by everyone just like when it was arriving as the gates closed. And, after they were completely sealed, it also didn't take long for the groups to come inside and part to their respective rooms after chatting a little more amongst each other.

~o0o~

He would be lying far too lamely if he ever said he didn't enjoy it. Words like "lolicon" or "pervert" could be the right ones to describe that side of him. But he couldn't care less about that, since he could never help but have a little fun watching the many sorts of protest his aide would give against his advances. Sometimes, she would try to be cold and melt away; sometimes, she would try to scold or lecture him and succeed; sometimes, she would find herself in a helpless situation, so she would appeal to begging for mercy. Whatever she did, she would never fail to be utterly cute.

Just like now.

"W... We caaaaaan't!" the raven-haired beauty complained in a furious whisper with her face in many shades of pink and red, one of her hands clutching her master's black yukata tightly and the other covering his lips.

For the second consecutive day, she had been caught by surprise by her master, this time while delivering some recently dried clothes before going to help Wakana and Kejourou with other chores. In a second, she was peacefully organizing his wardrobe while he worked on some scrolls behind her, and in the other, when she was done, she was literally nose-to-nose with her commander.

As always, her response was to back off, but the wardrobe was on her way, so she ended up slipping down to the floor as she tried to stay as far as possible from the ruby-eyed young man's lips by pushing him off with her hands. Had it not been for the fact she had been off-guard back then, she would have thought of a better way to prevent him from getting what he wanted than pushing him away, for his unyielding structure wouldn't even budge. On the contrary: it was her body that had been pushed down instead. In short, the more strength she applied to push him off, the more she pushed herself down and slid beneath him. Unfortunately (for her), she ended up only seeing she had been trapped when she had no more space to escape. In that situation, her only choice was to put a hand over his mouth as she argued against what could possibly be coming.

Not that it would work.

"Waka... please... let's not—kyah!" she began, but wasn't able to finish her sentence as something moist and soft made its way across one of her palms. She immediately withdrew her hand back and whipped it off on her obi, her blush becoming deeper. "W-What was that for, Rikuo-sama?" she asked in a low but demanding tone, even though she knew very well the answer to her question.

"Your hand is tasting like soap, Tsurara." ignoring her obvious question, he laughed smoothly at his own comment and the way she reacted to it.

"W-Whaaa...?!" with her face about to melt from the exaggerated heat, the servant didn't know what to think anymore.

"Tsurara... you're the only one, right?" after staring down at her for a little while, he asked absently, holding the hand that still had a strong and trembling grip on his yukata while having to hold back the urge to laugh out loud at the funny, confused face she made at his statement.

"H-Hah...?"

"You're the only one who keeps rejecting me, right?" the white-haired one continued slowly, his smirk lowering to a smile as he pulled her small, slender pale fingers off his clothing one by one. "Do you hate me?"

"EH?!" by the second she was able to process what she had just heard, the aide could feel sweat drops forming on her cheeks from blushing so hard. "T-T-T-T-That's not iiit! I lov... awawawawawah! That's wro~~~~~oong!"

Adorable.

Now resting one of his elbows, with one of his hands supporting his head from his cheek, the Wakagashira delighted himself as much as he could as he watched his personal servant try to recompose her sputtered statement and explain herself, but only ended up making more confusing sentences. As her arms frantically wailed and her ocean blue eyes refused to meet their opposing burgundy comparison, her denial of her master's previous question and her own interrupted justification took a little while more, until she understood she was just being teased. By then, the embarrassed babbling became embarrassed scolding as she hammer-fisted his chest in exasperation, still not able to make his muscular structure move the slightest bits.

He only wished it also wouldn't hurt his heart.

It was something impossible to ignore – the excruciating pain that would stab his chest every time he was remembered his life should belong to another woman. And he mostly felt said pain when he spent time with the one he actually wanted to pledge himself to. That killed him inside bit by bit as time went by, ever since he had found out about his feelings – those that were never supposed to exist. And the fact his special person would most of the time refuse to reciprocate the little three words he had wanted to hear from her for so long, regardless of how hard he tried to steal them from her, only made it worse.

Still, one day, he had promised himself, he would have her say them, no matter what.

Until then, he would have to be contented with how things were at the moment, as he continued his attempts to make her accept him the way he wanted her to. The ironic part was that what actually motivated him the most to do so was the fact he was almost always repelled in the end, for the more negation he received from her, the more he felt the need to be reminded she only did all of that for his sake and that what she really wanted was just the same as he did.

"Okay, okay, I get it." as his thoughts completely took away the feeling of fun he was having while observing his little aide's frustrated self, he silenced her softly, grabbing a non-hurtful hold of her tiny wrists. Skillfully, he led them to both of her sides, above her head, easily fighting back any resistance. Soon enough, the two of them were in the most suggestive position they had been ever since his last birthday. And, as he leaned his forehead on hers, his flashy bloody pools quickly seized her widened ocean ones in their firm gaze.

Petrified, Tsurara was left taking a second or two too long staring straight into her master's eyes, watching his expression change drastically from a playful smile to a serious thin line with a hint of sorrow. She was only brought back to the rest of her senses by her master's warm breath tickling the tip of her nose, and, as she came to, her instinctive response was to ask for him to stop, regretting it as soon as she perceived how close his lips already were to hers, "Ah... w... wai–" A little moment before a connection could be made – which was just a matter of milliseconds – she only had one thing in mind.

That once again, she had nowhere to escape.

"Waka~!" a cheerful, mature feminine voice was heard on the other side of the closed shouji of the room. The master and the servant easily recognized it as Kejourou's. "Forgive my intrusion~!" With her request, which meant she was coming in, the look between the two of them changed completely from longing desire and bittersweet defeat to alarming despair, and soon, the previous atmosphere was all gone.

Only to be replaced with an even heavier one.

"Ara...?" a puzzled brunette mused with herself as she slid the shouji doors of the room open after receiving no response. "Waka...?" allowing herself to go further into the place than just sticking her head in, she looked around twice, confirming there was no one in sight with a sigh. "Weird... Waka is usually here at this time. Then, could it be... he's back to that horrible habit of skipping work?" she whispered thoughtfully to no one in particular while scratching her chin, staying in a quick moment and pondering with herself before taking her leave for good. "I'd better go find Tsurara, then..."

Upon hearing her name, the aide's heart skipped a beat, which made her feel the need to take a deep breath, but it wasn't possible – at least not with her mouth and nose being covered with a fairly bigger comparison of her hands. Successfully sneaking an arm out of a strong hold around her waist area, she tapped the obstacle blocking her only sources of oxygen, which caused its owner to let go immediately, whispering an apology into her ear right after. Greedily inhaling and exhaling, the raven-haired one was both relieved for finally being able to breathe normally and uneasy because of the situation she now found herself in.

Sharing her master's wardrobe with him.

Rikuo had been quite quick. As soon as he had heard Kejourou coming, he tackled his personal servant with one arm and swiftly half-rolled into the wardrobe, – which hadn't yet been closed – sliding its wooden doors shut with his free hand and then using it to cover the mouth of the confused girl in his grip. For such a rushed and sudden action, he was very thankful he had landed on some piles of soft and recently-dried clothes, not hurting his back. He had also been careful enough not to hold his mate too tightly that time, so that what had happened the night before wouldn't be repeated. But he had still moved a little too quickly for someone who had broken bones, and so it wasn't long before pain reached him, only with a lower intensity of the one of the previous time.

"Ri-Rikuo-sama...!" the white maiden struggled to turn around with her superior's arm still around her so that she would be able to face him, after hearing an angsty moan from behind her. Irritated that she couldn't see his state well in the darkness of the narrow space they were in and that it was partly her fault he was in agony again, she mentally cursed herself with a frown and immediately tried to pat his head slightly to provide at least a little bit of comfort. Much to her surprise, all she did was get her hand caught in his as he drew it to one of his cheeks and nuzzled himself into it, reminding her of the morning after the night he was injured, when she had done the same thing with his hand, after he had carefully taken the liberty to wipe off her cold tears. In a small daze, Tsurara took a couple of seconds staring at her master's closed eyes in silent admiration. But, as she noticed the hint of pain in his facial expression, she immediately tried to get up from her lying position on the clothes she had just delivered.

Zen.

The first thing she thought of as a solution was, obviously, to seek help from the Nura-gumi's best medic. Since he was going to be at the main house for a while, he would be the perfect assistance for the reckless Sandaime. But as she gave her suggestion, all she received as response was to be pulled back to face her commander – this time, with her body a little closer to his, almost like he was itching to press her against him. Yet since he couldn't do so, he just brought her as close to him as possible without him getting hurt again, and asked her to stay with him like that for a while, assuring he would be just fine if he stayed put for a bit. She complied, but only because she understood that he would have to take a while to start moving again, and she wanted to be there to help him when he was ready. And, while she was in his half-embrace, Tsurara couldn't help but notice something under her hand, coming out of her master's loose yukata.

A sapphire pendant.

Automatically, many memories of her future mistress came back to her, flashing through her mind right before her eyes, as if even her subconscious wanted to torture he already castigated self. Uncountable moments from ever since the two of them had met flowed freely – most of them about the Ienaga daughter and the current Nura heir and the times she saw the two of them together. How they managed to draw closer to each other within time (despite the childish trials of her younger self to separate them), how her undeclared love rival had always tried hard to maintain a steady relationship with her fiancé, how she was still fighting to be a good enough spouse... everything pierced through the indigo-eyed maiden's heart like a sharp stake.

And the worst part was that her master seemed to have sensed her grief.

With his hand traveling its way to the back of her neck, she felt her head being pulled closer to his warm, broad chest. The first thing she noticed, while blushing madly, was that his heartbeats and breathing seemed to be slowly going back to their normal rate, which meant the pain was easing. Faintly, she could hear him whispering into her ear, which sent chills all over her body, "See? Tsurara's here, so I'll be fine."

Hearing those words, she was a little confused for a moment, but immediately understood what he had implied after a couple of seconds of thinking. He had already once told her how embracing her felt before. It had happened on the day of the Nidaime's funeral – she had fallen asleep in his arms on his futon while consoling him. When she had woken up in the middle of the night, she figured people would find it strange to see her coming out of his room by dawn, so she tried to sneak out, but ended up awaking him. As he had noticed what she was doing, he immediately stopped her, ordering her to stay with him until morning. When she had tried demanding why he was so uncharacteristically insisting on such a thing, he didn't hesitate to answer in his sleep-drunken state. And even though back then he was a little drugged with sleep, she could tell his words were honest. He had, of course, later regretted what he had done out of embarrassment, but no matter how much he begged for her to forget what he had said, the memory would never leave her, so all he could do was to live it down. But now she could see he actually hadn't been able to do so, and even seemed to be using his words in his favor to make her feel better and remember the old times when everything was easier and seemed like it would last forever.

But all of that had changed too suddenly.

As Kana's return was announced, the two of them seemed to have snapped back into cruel reality. Soon enough, their relationship had started taking completely unexpected proportions as their feelings continued to pile up within time. While he would try to convince her to give in to him, to show her he wanted her by his side rather than on his back, to open his heart to her, she would try to remind him of his duties, preserve his position, make him choose the path of a peaceful future, yet assure she would still never leave him. As a result, she would neglect his way of showing affections as well as he would neglect hers. In resume, it seemed they had become trapped in a vicious cycle of hurting and healing each other – like a curse. And there wasn't anything they hated more in the world.

But at the same time, there wasn't anything they loved more, either.

She watched him slowly open his flashy burgundy eyes as he gazed down at her in a daze, not blinking, like she had done many times before with him. With her chest tightening, courtesy of the many overflowing feelings prevenient of the memories that had been awakened in her, the corners of her eyes started to become disturbed with water. Pursing her lips and cursing her incapability of controlling her emotions and reactions, she immediately broke their connection as she downed her head and began to rub her lashes with her hands frantically.

She was more than displeased to show such weakness before the person she admired the most.

"W... We must hurry up, Rikuo-sama!" she stated out of the blue, her tears dried and her sad face replaced with a strange look of determination that seemed to have come out of nowhere. "If you're okay to walk now, let's go to Zen-sama so that he can take a look at those wounds!" she said, more like ordered, quickly sliding the wardrobe's wooden door open and letting herself out, giving no chance for her master to pull her back. "You have been acting to carelessly with them, and the medicines he gave you may not be enough to—wah!" she trailed of suddenly, almost tripping on the hems of her white furisode.

Hearing her abrupt stop, but unable to see what exactly had happened since the aide was out of his field of vision, Rikuo slowly let himself out of his wardrobe as well. "What's wrong, Tsur...?" his turn to trail off came not so long after hers as he stopped mid-way out. Staring almost blankly at the scene before him, it had taken him a few seconds to understand what could have led things to turn out the way he was seeing them, but soon enough, he was able to put the pieces together. He had thought it had been his impression, but while they were in the wardrobe, the moment she had struggled within his hold, her obi had loosened a little without her notice.

And the result of that was quite a bit awkward.

She was miraculously able to catch her obi before it fell down. But that still didn't mean she was able to prevent her kimono from stirring, which exposed her a little bit. And she seemed to have perceived as much as her face became as hot as lava. "P... Please, don't look..." she asked faintly, barely able to form a coherent sentence out of embarrassment, let alone look at her commander properly. He, however, didn't seem to be able to pay attention to her request – or to anything other than her bare left shoulder and a little piece of a not-so-small-anymore cleavage that were slightly exposed by her nearly falling furisode and nagajuban. All he did was stare as if he was seeing through her, motionless like he had become a part of his own furniture.

Before nose-bleeding uncontrollably.

"Rikuo-sama...!" without thinking, the aide instinctively stepped forward to provide some help to her leader, regardless of her condition.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm totally fine." he immediately claimed with one of his hands up, wise enough to turn his back at her as he finally found the will to move again and looking up at the ceiling while holding his nose so that no more blood would come out. "Just don't... don't come here, alright?"

"A-Alright." She replied quietly, watching him use his black yukata to wipe off his blood, until she noticed something was missing. "R... Rikuo-sama, where's your haori?"

"Kinda hot today." he answered between sniffs. "I prefer not to wear it."

"I-I see..." she muttered, lowering her head and staring at some of her master's blood that had spilled onto the once gleaming wooden floor. Indeed, it was becoming a little bit hotter every day. The warmth of spring was coming. Not that it wasn't about time – after all, February was almost over.

Soon enough, her master and his childhood friend would be...

"I..." she broke her trail of thoughts as she covered her shoulder. Thanks to them, though, she had managed to get her act together and steady her voice. "I will be fixing my furisode now. So please don't look."

Hearing the announcement, he flinched slightly while finishing cleaning his sore nose. He was going to ask her to let him go across the room before she got started, so that he could use his scrolls as a distraction to the fact she would be actually exposing herself right behind him. But as he heard the sound of her obi being dropped to the floor for good (as she was probably in a hurry before anyone else let themselves in), he automatically dismissed his idea and just sat on the floor, unable to do anything other than stare at nothingness and try to control his thoughts.

Yet that was surprisingly harder than he had expected.

He started massaging his aching nose's bridge, his face covered with heat, which he suspected that wasn't only prevenient of his sudden little burst of blood. While listening to the soft sounds of her clothes' fabrics, he couldn't help but wonder about what the rest of her could look like. In a split second, with the simple idea of picturing such a thing, his mind was invaded with all sorts of inappropriate thoughts with incredible speed, as if they had already been within him for quite a while, just waiting for a chance to resurface. As a result, his face only became hotter. That made him automatically place his hands over it and massage his cheeks, in order to spread his blood and contain his desire to slap himself.

Hard.

How did she even do that to him? She was young and her body was still developing. It shouldn't be such a big deal to see her, let alone to see so little. He also had already had more intimate contact with other females' bodies before, – but of course, not willingly – those being actual adults and very attractive ones. Still, his reactions to them were nothing close to what had just happened. He had even been shoved into cleavages of women of Kejourou's caliber before, but at most, he would only blush slightly. Then how could something like that have such a greater effect? It could be because it was a rather rare opportunity, since Tsurara was different from the women he had had more intimate contact with – instead of being showy and overly secure of her body, she preferred to preserve and guard it. It could be because he was caught by surprise by how she had grown more than he had expected – or more than her clothes allowed him to see. It could be that was just his subconscious manifesting how much he desired her. Or it could be all of those options.

"'_Hot'? That flat Yukinko?"_

"Hot" indeed wasn't the right word to define her or her body in formation. And, even if she actually became attractive to that point in the future, he would never use such a disrespectful term to refer to her. He also surely wouldn't call her "flat" either, for the same reasons. So he embarrassedly decided with himself that "beautiful" was the one word that fit her perfectly.

"I-I'm done." A wavering voice said from behind him, "Feel free to turn around now, Waka."

When Rikuo did as he was allowed to, he was surprised to see his aide was neatly ready once again. He wasn't any specialist in women clothing, but it didn't take much to know kimono were more complicated than they seemed and the process of dressing them up took a little while, yet she had managed to put it back on and even tighten it in a rather short span of time. Was that how efficient she was?

"Ou..." he thought with slightly widened eyes. "as expected of Tsurara..."

"W-We can go to Zen-sama now, right?" the raven-haired one asked timidly, her blush still there. "B-But first, Rikuo-sama... y-you won't tell anyone... r-right...? I mean... a-about..."

"O-Of course not, idiot." he blurted out, still not free of his own blush, but she thankfully wasn't seeing it with her head down. What was she even thinking? That he would ever want to share what he had seen with anyone? Not happening. Not** ever** happening. She was his, nobody else's. No one should ever be conceived the right to see her except for him.

If it depended on him...

"I-Is that really so?" once again, his aide's voice broke his trail of thoughts. But this time, her tone was back to normal.

"What, are you doubting me?" at last with his excess of blood almost completely dissipated from his cheeks, he arched a silver brow at her, almost sounding annoyed.

"E-Eh?!" taken aback by the question, Tsurara couldn't help but raise her head and widen her eyes at her commander. "Of course not! Never! I just–"

It was needless to say the aide had regretted her automatic response. The moment her head shot up was the moment she was caught, and her defeat was defined by nothing but a quick and gentle peck on the lips. It was a subtle move, but it had her petrified for a couple of seconds, for it had taken her a little bit more than necessary to process what had happened.

She had lost.

"You just" he continued her sentence a little mockingly, despite his serious look, "lowered your guard."

Even though her master was also feeling pretty awkward with what had happened and with what he had just done, he still had a little hint of cockiness in his voice, and she could almost read the word "winner" in his eyes as she stared back at his ruby gaze. All of that somewhat annoyed her, aside from the fact her loss had been quite miserable after she had done her best to fight him back. And because of that, it took her a while to be able to muster out words. Tough when she actually did, it only worsened her situation, as they came out more little a soft gasp while her blush only deepened, "Mo... Mou...!"

He was just too dense.

~o0o~

GUYS. GUYS, IT'S OVER. IT'S OVER AND I'M SO DAMN SAD. YET I'M KIND OF HAPPY. AND NOSTALGIC, TOO. AND THE OVA. THE FREAKING NURARI OVA. GOSH, THE FEELS. THE **FEELS**, PEOPLE!

Speaking of the OVA, I don't know if you know, but a kind soul has uploaded it on Media Fire. It's not the best quality, but at least it's something. If you don't feel safe about downloading it, someone has also posted this very archive on You Tube. But warning: it's without subs, so this amateur translator (me) posted a resumed translation of it on tumblr and Manga Fox. I REALLY wanted to give you guys the links to all of that, but it's probably against the rules to post it here. So if you want, I can give you instructions through PM to get all of those. Anyways, have fun, guys! The long-awaited OVA and this update are my presents for you!

And, man, as expected... the number of alerts is still going down. I'm so sad, guys! It's not even because my story is getting much less attention than before, but because the fans are all leaving so quickly I'm starting to feel lonely. I hope the third season comes out soon. The OVA is already bringing the fans back, but... ah, damn, I'm being such a whiny idiot! Sorry, guys, I wanted to share a bit of my sadness with you. I'm just so sure that even if manga like Naruto or Bleach end, there would still be a lot of fanfictions there for them, but NuraMago... what even happened to NuraMago? It had used to be so popular before... it had so much potential... but the sales... gah. I'm still trying to accept this early end, even though it was quite a bit epic. I wonder if you guys feel the same.

PS: firstaidkateee and hungrydotfridge! My beautiful stalkers! How did you like this chapter? I really wanna know! Please, leave a comment there for me~!

Well, let's just go on with the remarks:

1) First, explanations about the names of some characters!  
Akagappa: I gave him "Toono" as a surname because, to me, it kind of makes sense, since he's the head of the **Toono** family.  
Dassai: much like Kiyo, I couldn't find affiliations to his name to make one up for him, so I had to leave it like this...  
Hihi: Well, it's pretty much like Akagappa. Since he's the head of the Oosaru alliance, I don't see why not give him that as surname. And it suits him quite well, don't you think? He was a **great ape** Youkai after all.  
Gyuuki: I guess I don't need to explain much about his case, just that the name of the type of Youkai he is became his surname.  
Hagoromo-gitsune: I did the same thing as with Hitotsume and split her name. Lol, yeah, assassinating Japanese grammar.  
Zen: I also attributed him the name of his Kumi.  
As for Ryouta Neko, you may be wondering why I only refer to him with name and surname all the time instead of just picking one, but... hell, I can't just call him "Ryouta" or "Neko". It's just not the same!

2) For those who are wondering who is the green-haired, golden-eyed dude I introduced up there, it was Amezou. I really hope you guys don't mind the "human transformation" I made for him and the splitting I did for Awashima. I mean, I couldn't write about Amezou being a Numagappa because there aren't youkai in my story, and since we don't know how he would be in human form, I adapted him to my needs. I just didn't want to leave him out because it wouldn't be the same without him. I also didn't want to leave out any of Awashima's two forms (I know male Awashima barely shows up, but I think it wouldn't be the same without him, either), but I obviously couldn't unless I separated them. So, here you have it – twins!

3) This remark may be a little useless... but here we go: some of you may be thinking that I changed Tsurara's speech a little when I embedded in this chapter a scene from chapter 209, but I actually didn't. So, if anyone asks me about it, here's the explanation in advance – as an amateur translator, from what I've understood after reading the raw scans in Japanese, what she said back then was: "Me-me-me-me-messooo~ mo nai (T-T-T-T-That's not iiit)! Daisu (I lov)... awawawawawa! Chigauno desu~~~~~uu (That's wro~~~~~oong)!". But yet the translators wrote it in English like this: "N-N-N-No! I lovava—youdon'tunderstand!", and I really don't know why.

4) I know I shouldn't be doing this but, yes, I included Rinko in the Bakeneko group. I just thought I'd add as many characters as I could to this lovely reunion, and Rinko was drawn once serving Rikuo sake with the other Bakeneko, so... yeah.

5) You guys may be wondering about Kana's character in this chapter. Well, I shall cease your possible doubts: yes, her development is starting to take proportions! Finally! Man, I think I'm giving her what Shiibashi-sensei never did, and that feels wonderful to me! Wanna know why, folks? Because, not trying to offend Shiibashi-sensei's character-handling or bash the original Kana or anything of the sort, but I think she and her feelings for Rikuo are too weak. And because of that, to me, I had always felt like Kana's chances against Tsurara were low after I understood the two of them liked him – and that was on freaking chapter **two**. And as I read more, it felt less and less that Kana actually stood any chance at all. I only thought she could have a chance on chapter nineteen, but at the end of chapter twenty, all of that was gone and the little development she had had was all thrown away. I wanted to change that. I wanted to make Kana more human. I wanted to make her be the original weak self she was, but after she grew up a little, she would understand her feelings better and become stronger – that's one of the reasons why I wanted to make the characters a little older. I wanted to make Kana struggle over the same thing many times, actually show pain for not being good enough, and try to do something to gain Rikuo's love – that is, as you can tell, the total opposite of what original Kana is. In other words, I wanted to make Kana a more worthy rival for Tsurara, so that in the end, Tsurara's victory would be much more meaningful and Kana's character would have a much better development than the original one ever had. She shall not be over-shadowed by the other humans like she was in the manga! That's why I said and repeat: if everything goes as I've planned, you will be loving my Kana by the final chapters of this story. I promise you will be pleasantly surprised.

And, yes, I know that she may have seemed kinda like a double-timer with the way I made her analyze some of the Nura boys (as cute, handsome, etc.), but I don't think that was OOC of her part at all. I mean, yes, she does have Rikuo as the one she loves, but that doesn't mean she will go "shoujo manga character" and not feel attraction to anyone else, or at least think other guys can be attractive, as long as it's not as much as Rikuo. After all, she's just human. Besides, that happens in the original story as well: Kana is in love with Yoru, but she also has a crush on Rikuo, and she seems to consider the possibility that if she can't be with "that person" she still has Rikuo, who she used to swear that liked her. You may just say she only thought he liked her in the Tankoubon, when her dialogue with Yura was changed for comic relief, but in my opinion, it wasn't just that. Kana had already shown many times within the development of the story that she considered Rikuo to be something like her "property", seemingly because she had been his first school friend and thought it would be natural for him to fall for her, so when Tsurara appeared out of nowhere and ruined that (at least, in Kana's point of view) she tried to somewhat push Tsurara out of her way. For example, when she tried to use Yura to separate him from Tsurara or when she suspected he and Tsurara had gone somewhere throughout the woods of Nejireme-yama to spend time together and immediately went to stop them herself. In other words, while Kana tried to see if she had a chance with Yoru, she tried to guarantee hers with Rikuo as well, in case she had a negative feedback. And if she didn't, she could just say good-bye to poor old Rikuo and have her happy fantasies with Yoru. Not double-timer to you? XD

Whoa, those were quite huge paragraphs... lol.

6) I've just turned seventeen! (Let's see how many people will care about this, lol.)

7) FORGET ABOUT MY PREVIOUS RAMBLINGS ABOUT HAVING ACHIEVED 13,100 WORDS SOME CHAPTERS AGO. I ACTUALLY GOT MORE THAN 19,000 WORDS ON THIS ONE. AND I WILL MAKE EVEN MORE IN FUTURE CHAPTERS. SEE WHAT YOU GUYS DO TO ME?!

8) Last but not least... OMG, THE RIKUTSURA MOMENTS ONLY BECOME MORE AND MORE CLICHÉD AND PERVERTED! WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME?!

Now, anons, the responses (and his shitty authoress still hopes you guys make your own accounts so that I can reply properly to them and we could talk more~)!

eucliwoodsctyhe: Thanks!

Yup, drunken Kana was very OOC.

I'm sorry if RikuTsura wasn't quite the focus of this chapter...

Thanks again! I'm always waiting for comments like yours too! It feels gratifying to have such nice readers!

slight: Whoa, a RikuKana hater? Then let's share a virtual high-five. I'm a pro RikuKana hater. I like Kana, but just **can't** stand the idea of her with Rikuo in any way possible, so let's just say I love RikuTsura as much as I hate RikuKana.

I hope I've updated fast enough and that it met the expectations.

Thank you for reviewing!

Kuro: Kuro-saaan! I missed you so much! *weeps as well* I'll give you such a gigantic reply now!

You didn't have to apologize, silly you. Take your time with my story.

Y-Your... "heaven"?! D-Does that mean you see my story as your little paradise or something? OMG, I'm so honored...

It's okay. Actually, it had only been a month, but you weren't impatient at all. I was the one who was late. And when I got your review hurrying me up, I decided to do my best, for you and for a friend of mine who was needing some support and a good distraction because she's going through some hard shit. I was able to finish it on that day thanks to you guys!

Awwwn, I'm so happy to know that!

Well, the only new couple was MamiYura, but it had already been hinted on the chapter before.

Hohoho, I love Kubinashi with Kejourou so much~! I'm glad their lovey-dovey scenes were good enough.

I'm also glad the RikuTsura moments were worth the read.

Oh, hun, she's not "ignoring him". She's just trying to preserve his welfare and position as well as the Nura-gumi, so she has to avoid him while being with him, that's all. It's not just because they love each other that they can be together. This kind of stuff also happens in the manga with Yamabuki and Rihan. Tragic cliché, eh? Besides, it's not just Rikuo who is suffering.

Hehehe, yes, things got out of hand for Jirou and Kana. It was a little fast, but it wasn't meant in the romantic sense, so their relationship is yet to be developed~!

Kuro is such an adorable tsundere. Lol, yeah, Natsumi has to get a hold of herself... and her relationship with Kuro.

Really?! Fufufufu, I shall take responsibility for turning you into a hardcore MamiYura shipper... BY MAKING MORE MAMIYURA SHIP-TEASE! MUWAHAHAHAHA! Man, why do I keep doing this? And Mamiru is cool, but not the "sexy" type of cool. Well, at least, that's how I think people saw it because of the "punishment" thing. But it was actually meant to be his usual "innocent self" acting there.

Itaku is with the Toono guys, of course! ItaRei shall be shown... as soon as I get an opportunity.

RikuIta moments? Y-You mean... like "that"...? *remembering the ton of doujin I've seen before and shuddering*

Rikuo and Kana's won't. Actually, arranged marriages are fated **not** to work, but Itaku and Reira's would be an exception. **If** I make them arranged weds, that is.

Hahahaha, it's not a lie. You're overdoing it. But thanks, anyways.

Whoa, there.

Yes, and Indonesian writers, too.

Oh, well, it's not hard to understand when you write, but I admit it wouldn't fit for a story. Still, you can always make an account so we can talk more like real friends! I mean, when this story ends, I don't intend on writing any more NuraMago stories. Then, how will we keep contact? Please, make an account~!

Thank you again!

Man, your school looks really horrible. I wish I could say I understand, but in fact, I don't (and I really don't want to). Still, I can tell you one thing: DO YOUR BEST. NEVER GIVE UP, OKAY?! I'M CHEERING FOR YOU, SO DON'T DISAPPOINT ME OR YOURSELF.

"Suspicious gestures"? I'm not sure I understand that... and what "came from a 'she'"? By "she" you mean your mother?

You're welcome!

It's okay! Like I said, you can take your time!

"Contests"?!

Ugh! *out-shown by Kuro-san's sparkling eyes* I-I'll try to update... ASAP...!

What word is provocating?

Yes, you guys are all too awesome!

Again, you're making my author notes sooo huge! This time, it was more than one page! XD

Guest: okay, just because of that? If you had said you got bored reading my story because it was bad, I would understand, but because it's long? Seriously?

fsa: why, thank you!

Once again, guys, thank you for reading one more chapter! I really do hope it wasn't as boring as it seemed and that those who had enough patience to read the first Kana-packed parts have at least liked the reunion and introduction of more characters into this story. I was really bothered by how I couldn't place as much dialogues as usual in this chapter, and I think it turned out to be quite a bit uncomfortable to read because of that. But to introduce everyone in Kana's point of view, I had no choice. And even though I did try to resume it as much as I could, it ended up being almost full five pages purely of descriptions of characters that are already known. And the worst is that those parts may not be all that important, but you surely will miss some stuff you might need to know in the future if you don't read them all... argh, damn. I'm so sorry, guys. This one chapter must have been disappointing for you.

And, well, I guess now I'll finally have more to write about other than just the love stories, but of course, they will still be the main topic! And with more characters, I can add even more tease and maybe more love stories and triangles (squares, pentagons, whatever) with more of my NuraMago OTPs! I'm looking forward to know what you think of all this and suggestions are welcome as well as good or bad comments, as long as you're as honest as possible with me!

Merry Christmas! Till next chapter!


	8. Reprehensibility

Concentration – that was the only thing he needed at the moment, yet it seemed like it would be the last thing he would have.

Back from Zen's room, Rikuo no longer felt any pain in his wounds (though his ears did hurt a little from all the scolding he got). With new medicine taken and bandages changed, he had gotten the notice that, thanks to his amazing body and its quick healing, he would be fine just in time for his wedding. And, even though he didn't like the mentioning of the fated occasion, he had still been feeling good enough to go back to work.

Until he witnessed certain events on his way to his own room.

_After she had taken him to Zen's place, Tsurara had been smart enough to fetch her master his grandfather's cane. Thanks to that, he would be able to go back to his own place without needing to call for help or abuse more of the medic, whose health was quite poor. It was also a good way for him to keep trying to walk by himself, instead of depending on others, which could later result in him having to relearn how to walk alone properly later on._

_As he made his way through the mansion's innermost corridors slower than he would like to admit, he spotted a rather heart-warming sight – his oh-so-faithful aide happily doing her daily chores. Minding his presence, he stopped for a while to observe her cleaning the wooden floors carefully with a priceless grin of satisfaction. Smiling to himself, the heir could have spent quite a while contemplating the scene, had it not been ruined by an irritating, cocky voice he knew very well._

"_Ho~" from the other side of the corridors, two figures approached her, one of them holding a devilish smirk. "Isn't that Yukinko~?"_

"_Hyah...?!" A little startled and with a drop of sweat forming on her forehead, – not from working, but from the unpleasant surprise – the raven-haired maiden stuttered with slightly widened eyes, "G-Gozumaru and Mezumaru...!"_

"_Hello~" darkly cheerful as always, the one with feminine looks greeted. "Long time no see~"_

"_Heh... I see you haven't changed at all." Gozumaru crossed his arms, "Still going all about being the head aide even though you're so damn useless... that's just like you."_

"_Wah...?!"_

"_By the way..." As the two boys were about to leave, the one with his hair on his face shot her a cold look from behind his shoulder, "you missed a spot."_

"_W..." with a vein popping on one of her temples, Tsurara felt obligated to close her eyes, for looking at the brunet's face any more was nearly unbearable._

_Ever since their first meeting, the two of them had never gotten along well. He, together with Mezumaru, had come with their leader to spend some time at the main house a few years before. Back then, Rikuo was learning Waza, a fighting technique he yearned to dominate, and had requested Gyuuki to assist him. Complying, Gyuuki had requested something in return, which was the permission to take his young subordinates with him, since they were learning the technique too. The permission had been granted, and the training had gone well as Mezumaru and Gozumaru had proved themselves to be decent matches for the Nura heir – but certainly not enough to defeat him. However, during the whole stay, it seemed there was no way the aide could ever get along well with the most prominent of Gyuuki's two apprentices._

_And that continued until the present time._

"_Why... you...!" not able to contain herself any longer with all the memories of when she had needed to stand the presence of the two coming back to her, the white maiden picked up a wet cloth, which she was using to clean smaller objects that could be filled with dust, and recklessly threw it at him._

_Just who did that guy think he was? For two or more years, things had been the same between them. She had never liked him at all from the beginning, so it went without saying he was someone she preferred not to deal with. Still, it seemed like the two of them were fated to always bump into each other sooner or later if they were at the same place, no matter how big it could be. And, whenever they met, he would mock her for no apparent reason, with either disdain or superiority, even though her ranking in the Kumi surpassed his._

_She had never seen him acting in such a manner with anyone else, either. Knowing him as well as she did, it was natural for him to be serious all the time and impose a certain authority when he was interacting with other people, but he never disrespected others as he disrespected her. It seemed like she had been chosen to be his little toy, and every now and then, he would delight himself by spending his free time making fun of her. She had been growing tired of his despising way of treating her for long, and, this time, she had reached her limit._

_That very morning, she had decided it was finally time for well-deserved payback._

"_Uffueh?!" much to Tsurara's satisfaction, since her target had his back to her, he was a second too slow to react. "Tte... what the hell was that about!?" he asked as he removed the cloth from his now wet face. But as he did, for a second, he preferred to have the greyish fabric back in sight rather than the look he was being obligated to face. Before him, the servant had her hands on her hips and her bangs covering her eyes – though he could still catch the dangerous glow in them. And, maybe it was just his imagination, but he could see a shadow surrounding her, like a demonic aura. Still hidden, even the Wakagashira felt a little cold just by looking at her, wondering if the Gyuuki head still thought she was not fit to earn her mother's nickname._

"_I'm useless, you say..." she began off-characterly, her voice sounding a little hoarse. "and hinting such confidence in yourself, too... then does that mean you'd be doing my job better if you were in my shoes, Gozum..." she then trailed off slowly, as her eyes seemed to have caught something in another direction, her expression changing into obvious worry._

_Following her gaze, Gozumaru and Mezumaru quickly understood the reason of her worries – two children, one on the shoulders of the other, were trying to reach the top of a shelf to be able to clean it. Judging by how they were trembling, they weren't having success in what they were doing and they weren't in a steady enough position. Still, they seemed to refuse to give up, even with the risk of falling and getting injured. Observing that, Tsurara left her broom leaning against a wall before walking up to them._

_She was about to apprehend their recklessness, but, from where he was, Gozumaru beat her to it, "Hey, Gaki! What the hell you think you're doing there?!"_

"_Eh?" turning around abruptly, the one on top accidentally hit one of the vases on the shelf with the duster he had in hands. Seeing that, both Tsurara and Gozumaru took action, but, being it Tsurara was already walking up to them, it was her turn to beat him. Left with no other choice, she leapt towards them as far and fast as her furisode allowed her to. Able to take the two little boys in her arms and protect them from both the vase and the fall, she was more than glad she had made it in time when they landed._

_Even if the price for that was a very painful injury._

_Her right ankle seemed to have been hit by the vase as it fell to the floor and scattered loudly, which was both good and bad. The good part was that her foot had cushioned the impact the expensive decoration object could have received, so even though it was broken, it could be easily fixed with the right skills. And the bad part was the obvious fact she was hurt, which meant her "payback day" would have to wait a little more._

"_N... Nattou-Kozou... Ko-Oni..." she sputtered while trying to at least sit up, for it seemed getting on her feet was impossible. "Are you okay?"_

_Finally understanding what had just happened, the children, upon seeing what they had done, immediately got up and helped their head get seated as they stammered messy apologies. While they did so, the two young apprentices approached her and helped her remove the pieces and the powder of what was left of the once beautiful vase from her feet and clothes._

_Still hidden, the young white-haired heir found himself trembling in anger. Gritting his teeth, he pitied himself for his condition, for he had almost stepped out to help his aide. Normally, with his body and skills, even from the distance he was, he could perfectly not only prevent the children from falling, but the vase, too. But, this time, he could barely move from the effects of his medicine. It was then he was reminded of the sad truth._

_In the condition he was, he couldn't do anything._

"_Oi, you!" before he even noticed it, Gozumaru found himself teaching the young ones a lesson. "Be more careful!"_

"_Hiiie!" in response to his sudden aggressiveness, the two boys screeched in fear._

"_Tsurara, are you okay?" Mezumaru asked, his tone surprisingly holding genuine concern._

"_I am," she forced a reassuring smile. "but... I think my ankle..." she trailed off slowly, looking down at her foot. The way she had fallen had given her quite a bit of pain in the right side of the body, which had been the one used as she landed on the floor, but it seemed her ankle had been the one that had suffered more damage. Still, she doubted any of the other areas that had been in the painful contact with the hardwood floor wouldn't also become purplish later on._

_Watching his partner examine the wound she had probably gotten as he lifted the hems of her kimono a little bit, Gozumaru was mentally debating whether he should do something himself or not. But if he offered help, it wouldn't be just to raise her to her feet. She probably couldn't walk, so if he was to help, he would have to let her lean close to him or even carry her. Only the thoughts already made him blush furiously. His mind and body fiercely negated the chance of being so close to her, but she was looking so defenseless and pained that maybe, just maybe–_

"_Ah, screw this." he __dismissively __said to himself in his mind._

"_O-Oi, Yukin–" trying to ignore the rest of the people around and only looking at her, he was about to extend his hand to her at once when someone spoke together with him._

"_Nee-san?" a more mature masculine voice echoed through the corridors – one belonging to an incredibly tall young man with a hood over his head. Seeing him, Rikuo felt relieved, because now a trustworthy person had finally come around to help. With that, he wouldn't have to take action, and no matter how worried he was, that was the best for many reasons – the most important of them was that, if he showed up, he would do obviously nothing other than make her worry and send him back to his room. Still, he also felt a little uneasy, not only because he was feeling miserably useless again, but also because it almost looked like another man would be taking his place. Not that he had anything against his comrades, but, by the looks of it, the number of men around his aide only tended to increase._

_Lovely._

"_Shouei-kun!" Tsurara instantly brightened as she recognized the old friend and alliance heir. For a moment, she seemed to have forgotten the pain as she absent-mindedly smiled at him, which slightly annoyed both the hidden Sandaime and the Gyuuki-gumi member a little._

_Had it not been for the situation he had found her in, said white and red-haired youngster would have become pretty red at the sight of the aide smiling at him and remembering him so quickly. Nevertheless, he still blushed a little bit at the sound of his name. And that, although not seen by the aide and the children, didn't go unnoticed by the by-standing Nura master, the Gyuuki-gumi head and his assistant._

"_W-What happened? Are you okay?" Shouei asked, ignoring his childish inner happiness and walking closer to her and the children while unintentionally ignoring the other two young men._

"_Oh, we're fine, really. Nothing serious happened." Tsurara reassured, her smile growing the slightest bits._

"_Yup, except for this~" Mezumaru said in an almost sing-song tone while pointing at her right ankle. Even from inside her tabi, it was easy to see the red mark and the swollen spot left by the impact of the heavy ceramic. Had she been in another position when she landed, she could have earned a broken bone._

"_Ah."_

"_Don't just 'ah' us, you idiot!" displaying more preoccupation than he would like to admit, Gozumaru snapped at her obliviousness. "You need treatment. Like, __**now**__."_

"_O-Okay... I think Wakana-san may have a first-aid kit with her." she said, rather shyly, since the last thing she had been expecting was to make her bully actually worry about her. "C... Can any of you help me go to her? She's probably at the kitchen right now."_

"_I... I could carry you there, Nee-san." Shouei offered timidly. Thankfully, she didn't notice his blush this time either, although everyone else did._

"_You'd do that for me, Shouei-kun?" Tsurara asked, brightening up again, which made the by-standers feel a bit desolated._

"_A-Anything for Tsurara-nee-san...!" the Hihi-gumi member accidentally blurted out, failing to to sound secure as he knelt down and wrapped his arms around her thin waist and knees, after everyone stood up to give him enough space._

_Rikuo couldn't help but flinch at the scene. Seeing his personal servant in the arms of another man for the first time was much more disturbing than he had thought it could ever be. For a moment, he had wanted to walk up to them and snatch her from him, but gave himself a mental slap right away, dismissing such a thing. After all, Shouei was an old and good friend, so the Nura heir knew he could trust him. Besides, the most important thing of all was that Tsurara would be fine._

_He just had to convince himself of that._

"_Thank you, Shouei-kun!" she continued to smile grateful and apologetically. "I'm sorry for the trouble."_

"_It's not trouble at all. I'm not doing anything right now." He looked away, blushing a little more, "B-Besides, Nee-san is as light as a feather."_

"_Eh? Really?" she asked a bit skeptically, now becoming a little pink herself. If it wasn't for the fact she was reacting like that at him, the sight could have been enjoyable for both her master and her bully. But, since she was, it was nothing more than slightly irritating._

"_Can we just hurry up, you guys?" the Gyuuki-gumi head groaned in annoyance._

"_Oh, r-right."_

~o0o~

_Due to his physical condition, it was needless to say it had taken the Sandaime a while to get to the kitchen, but as he finally did, he still minded his presence and avoided being seen successfully. Opening the shouji doors a little bit, enough for him to peek inside, he was able to see Tsurara had been placed on a chair, and was apologizing to his mother for the vase. The two children, still feeling very guilty, constantly bowed in apology as well. Yet Wakana, as expected, dismissed them as she took a look at her assistant's wound, kneeling down and lifting the hem of her kimono the slightest bits. Beside her, Kejourou and Karasu Tengu's wife observed the wound too, but with less hints of worry than everyone else had on their faces. Opposing to them, Gozumaru, Mezumaru and Shouei were standing behind the head aide, watching everything as they found themselves unable to do anything._

"_So, Wakana-sama..." The white-haired young man asked, "is it too bad?"_

"_Are you gonna have to patch her up~?" the one with a skull on his head asked jokily._

"_Yuki Onna... you'll be okay, right?" Nattou-Kozou asked fearfully._

"_T-Thanks for worrying, everyone, but it's alr—h-hey...!" while trying to calm the males down, Tsurara noticed someone had grabbed a hold of her leg and lifted it a little. And, although it didn't hurt her, it exposed her leg much more than it should, to the level of her knee. When she turned around to ask her mistress what she could be possibly doing, she found out it wasn't her who was taking a look at her wound anymore, but Karasu Tengu's wife. "N-Nuregarasu-sama...!"_

"_Hm..." thoughtfully scratching her chin, the raven-haired woman examined the wound a little more closely than needed, as if she couldn't see it properly, taking the girl's tabi off before even asking her permission to do so. It was then that Tsurara could notice the older one's cheeks were slightly pink and her eyes a little droopy. Looking at Kejourou, who was exactly in the same state, the aide assumed the two of them had been drinking together for quite a while now. A few empty sake bottles lying here and there confirmed her suspicions, and she couldn't help but wonder what her master's mother could be thinking as she let the two of them become drunk at such early hours. Still, regardless of how the two looked, Nuregarasu's voice gave off a somber enough air as she spoke, "I see. It's not serious at all, just a little twist. It's also not all that swollen, so I think I can fix this."_

"_R-Really?" Tsurara asked with a hint of happiness. "But how?"_

"_Heh," the woman in black smirked suddenly, which took away any possible relief the people around had felt at her previous words. "Don't worry. I know an old but efficient technique that can be exactly what you need~"_

"_I... Is that really okay?" Shouei sweat-dropped._

"_On second thought, you guys," Kejourou, who had a sharp knife in hands, – which showed she had been half-drinking, half-working – crossed her arms with lowered eyelids in an almost threatening manner, "can you stop looking, please?"_

_It had taken a while for the males to understand the request, but when they finally noticed Nuregarasu didn't seem like she would let go of the aide's head so soon, they immediately turned their backs to the group of women. Outside, Rikuo fidgeted uncomfortably at his servant being exposed in front of other men, relieved the excessive amount of skin she was showing was now out of their sight._

"_W... We're sorry, Nee-san." Shouei apologized while turning, his blush deepening. Still, regardless of his words, the look on his face showed he wasn't that sorry at all._

"_Hmph, w-who'd want to look at her, anyways?" Gozumaru asked lowly yet clear enough to reach Tsurara's ears, emphasizing fake disgust. Had he not been with his back to her, she would have been able to tell it was all just an act by the way he was furiously blushing and slightly trembling._

"_If you're alright with it, I can do it." pouting, the bluish-haired maiden would have forgotten about her injury, had Nuregarasu's words not brought her back. "It won't take more than a second or two."_

"_O-Okay..." after a couple moment of thinking, she hesitantly answered, gripping the chair she was sitting on tightly without noticing. All she wanted was to go back to work as quickly as possible, even though that said technique seemed a little dangerous (especially in the state the one who had offered it was). Still, she doubted that Nuregarasu, who was a friend of her mother's and whose husband was under her master's orders, would purposely hurt her, no matter how drunk she could be. Besides, from what she had heard, drinking was a routine to the Karasu woman, just like it was to her mother and Kejourou. It also didn't seem like she had drank much, so she couldn't be __**that**__ affected by it._

"_Then I'm doing it now." Nuregarasu warned, putting herself in an odd position. With one knee on the floor, she placed her hands on the top and the back of Tsurara's right foot, signaling she was most likely going to make her ankle go back to its normal form by giving it a rather violent and quick twist. Since she was already in quite a bit of pain, the aide started wondering if that was really the best thing to do. Maybe it was the fastest way to make her joints return to their place, but, by the looks of it, the price for that would be even more pain._

"_Eh? He-Hey, Nuregarasu... is that really reasonable?" Kejourou asked, abandoning the vegetables she had been chopping and coming closer to Wakana, who seemed to be asking herself the same thing._

_Hearing the question and seeing worried looks in the faces of the two brunettes, Tsurara could only feel more afflict. And, although Karasu Tengu's wife seemed to be secure of what she was about to do, she still wanted to make sure what was about to be done was safe by making a last small request. "I-I'm counting on you, but... please be caref—hyau!" just as she was about to finish her sentence, she couldn't resist the urge to let out a yelp and jump slightly as Nuregarasu didn't seem to have listened to her and proceeded to apply her technique on her sore ankle without a second thought._

"_Nee-san?!" Shouei turned around quickly at both the noise the aide had made and the loud crack her bones had, startle and worry clear in his face and voice._

"_Yuki Onna!?" the children followed in unison._

"_Oi, Nuregarasu...!" Kejourou's shoulders went up a little in alarm and shock while Wakana, who was just beside her, had her hands automatically flying close to her mouth. Both of them had their eyes wide at what they had just seen, and, as if they couldn't move, they just kept staring down._

"_W-What was that?" much like the rest of the people in the room (with the obvious exception of Nuregarasu), Gozumaru was also quite a bit preoccupied and uneasy with what he had heard, but tried to mask it with slight indifference. In contrast, his sadistic assistant didn't seem the slightest bits affected. On the contrary: he seemed to be enjoying everything, especially how his master was reacting to it._

_Outside of the kitchen, for a split second, Rikuo had experienced an intense urge to burst the shouji doors open and let himself in at the sound of surprise and discomfort his aide had made. Of course, he had only not done so for the same reason that had made it impossible for him to prevent her from getting hurt – not being able to move properly. Still, this time, he was quite thankful to his limitations, for they had prevented him from embarrassing himself and causing an unnecessary fuss._

_With his free hand covering his mouth, he tried to recover from the shock and the gasp he had almost let out, while his other hand tremblingly gripped Nurarihyon's cane. His heart was pounding loudly enough for him to be able hear, which was not a good sign (given his current state), so he tried to take deep breaths to stable its beating. And all the while he was recomposing himself to be able to come into the room, – since he could no longer just stand there and watch – he was also mentally trying to make up an excuse to do so. But, just as he had his hand a few centimeters away from the doorframe, he immediately noticed two things: the fact Tsurara didn't seem to be in pain, regardless of how she had acted and the sickening noise her ankle had made, and the satisfied smile Nuregarasu held as she let go of the young woman's leg and rose to her feet._

_It seemed the said "technique" had worked._

"_There, it's done." the one with crow feathers on her head said, crossing her arms a little cockily. "So, how is your ankle?"_

"_Eh? I-It seems it's better now...!" Tsurara beamed a little in relief as she slightly moved her foot. After confirming her joints seemed to be in the right place again, she tried to bow, even while she was still seated, "T-Thank you very much!" As the young servant showed her respect and gratitude, although her ankle still ached quite a bit, the rest of the people in the room and the one by the doors sighed in relief._

"_Nah, that was nothing." with a wave, Nuregarasu dismissed her. "But here's an advice: if I were you, I wouldn't be walking just yet. Just... give your foot a little while to readjust. An hour or two would be enough."_

"_Oh, no, it's okay! I'm totally fine now!" she half-lied, which was what everyone had already been expecting of her. And she was about to get on her feet, when two big hands on her shoulders stopped her. "Ah?" Looking up behind her, what she found was a hooded young man giving her a stern look – something that was quite rare for him to do – with a hardly visible blush._

"_Don't overdo it, Nee-san." he said, more like ordering, sending chills up her spine and drawing all the attention of the people around._

"_Sh-Shouei-kun...?"_

"_Nee-san, you're always striving so hard." he began, his once apprehensive hands on her shoulders loosened as his serious look was replaced by a frown. "At least now that you're hurt, give yourself some rest."_

"_That's right, Yuki Onna." Kejourou nodded in agreement, her hands on her hips. "We can find someone to do your duties until you're okay, so you don't have to worry."_

"_Ah...! No...!"_

"_Heh, so insistent..." Gozumaru forced a smirk. "You're acting like a spoiled kid, Yukinko."_

"_What did you say?!"_

"_That's right, you disobedient little girl, you'd better do as you're told." the brunet bent down a little, getting as close as possible to the girl's face while masking his flushing cheeks by making a scary expression, as if what he meant was to frighten a defenseless child, "If you don't, you're just making others worry about you. Is that what you want, useless Yukinko~?"_

"_And you're one of the people that would worry, aren't you~?" Mezumaru whispered mischievously from the back, which only his master was able to hear, giggling at the look he earned in response._

"_Wh—I said I'm feeling okay!" irritated with the treatment from the allied Kumi's head, Tsurara raised her voice a little. "And I'll show you there's nothing to worry about if you let me!"_

"_Ahaha, but I'm afraid we won't~" Wakana smiled playfully, "Shouei-kun, please."_

"_Y-Yes." as soon as he understood the message, the Oosaru heir knelt down. "Excuse me, Nee-san."_

"_Eeeh?!" also understanding what her mistress had meant, Tsurara tried to protest yet again. "Wait, Shouei-kun! I—awaaah!"_

_Not waiting for her to finish, her friend took her in his arms yet again. And, this time, he immobilized her knees and pulled her closer to his large chest by her shoulders, to prevent her from protesting more or even trying to escape, if she dared to. While he did so, he was glad he was able not to hurt her with his protective hold at the same time that he was trying to help her (even though in a slightly forceful way) understand her body had its limits and was in need of rest. However, he was once again in intimate contact with her, and that made him terribly uneasy with a mixture of glee and anxiety. He just really hoped that, while he had to carry her, she would stay clueless about how much she affected him, just like the last time._

_Frowning deeply from his unseen spot, Rikuo didn't know if he should be thankful or miserable. Yet again, he was seeing his personal aide in the arms of another man while he couldn't do anything to provide her help whatsoever That only raised his wish to walk inside and take her to himself in his own arms, but his impossibility to do so kept being reminded by his weak state. But, for the time being, he would have no space to keep lamenting, or else he would end up being found out, for if Shouei opened the doors and found him there, it would be quite obvious he was eavesdropping. Noticing the group would be coming out soon, he then slowly hid himself behind the wall of a nearby corner, wishing his presence would remain unnoticed by everyone._

"_I take it you are allowing Nee-san some free time today." Shouei asked the group of women for mere confirmation._

"_I don't need free time!"_

"_What are you saying, Tsurara-chan~?" the short-haired mistress giggled as she opened the shouji doors and opened way outside, no traces of her son remaining there. "Go, Shouei-kun, take her to her room~"_

"_What?! Nooo! I don't want to go!"_

"_Geez, just quit whining, will you?" Gozumaru asked, pretending to be wiping one of his ears. "Your voice gets even more annoying than normal when you do that."_

"_Y-You have nothing to do with..." she began, but cut herself off when the one holding her started walking off. "Wait, Shouei-kun, put me down~!"_

"_Please, excuse us." Shouei said with a smile as he left with a complaining young woman in his arms and four silent males following behind, feeling bad for pretending to ignore the azure-eyed girl, even though it was for her own good._

"_Are? Are, areee~?" while watching everyone leave as quickly as they came, Kejourou smirked with a hand on her cheek. When they were no longer in sight, she turned around with her usual foxy look, "Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. Was Hihi-sama's son always this... bold~?"_

"_I'm guessing someone would love to hear about this." Nuregarasu nonchalantly said while allowing herself to open another bottle of Sake. "That girl seems to be on the right way to becoming her mother's biggest pride."_

_Hearing the rather casual comment, the two brunettes simultaneously blinked a few times and looked at each other, before suddenly bursting into laughter. Seemingly unaware of the reason of their reaction, Nuregarasu watched them with slightly widened eyes, until she heard a knock on the shouji doors. The other two women soon fell silent as they were opened, revealing a sweat-dropping young man. __With an arched brow, making it clear he found their behavior quite uncalled for, he asked sheepishly, "Hum, sorry to interrupt your 'fun', but... can anyone give me some water?"_

~o0o~

_She had become too silent._

_All the way through the mansion's innermost corridors to her place, the aide had slowly gone off-characterly quiet and motionless, her eyes always down as she took the liberty to lean against Shouei's broad chest without even perceiving it. She had probably understood resistance was futile, but the males still didn't expect her to become so sully, which had made them feel quite guilty (with the exception of Mezumaru). And so, thinking about starting a talk to brighten her mood, the Oosaru heir asked hesitantly, "N-Nee-san... are you angry with us?"_

"_Not at all." was her quick and lame response as she tossed her eyes forward, as if to avoid the white-haired young man's chocolate ones. And, though he had felt like he was being coldly rejected when she averted her gaze somewhere else, he couldn't help but see her look had changed, as if she had just realized something._

"_What is it?" he asked with raised brows._

"_I just... noticed how things seem small from here. It's so high it almost feels like flying." she answered simply and slowly, still looking forward. Finally, a small sisterly smile made its way to her once pouting lips, "Shouei-kun has become really big..."_

"_Nee-san..." in a daze, Shouei kept staring at her while he walked, not knowing what made him happier – the fact she wasn't angry at him at all, the fact she was at last smiling again, the fact he was able to hold her, or the fact she actually noticed him. Blushing yet again, he started wondering if it had really been a bad thing that she hurt herself._

"_Yeah but you, on the other hand, have changed nothing at all." Gozumaru teased from behind, crossing his arms while trying to make any hints of annoyance towards the two being so close seem transparent, "Same small, flat and useless Yukinko."_

"_Wah?! Just so you know, I've grown up about ten centimeters since last time we saw each other!" she turned around to face him from behind on of Shouei's broad shoulders. "And how can you say anything about me, even though we're practically the same height?"_

"_Shallow thinking as always, stupid Yukinko." all she received was a rude, cocky smile. "I'm not only talking about height. At least I've caught up with my growth spurt and gotten strong with time. But you still have the body of a child, doesn't matter if you've become taller or not."_

"_Eh~? But how do you know that~?" Mezumaru asked with a dark giggle. "Don't tell me, you actually look at Tsurara 'that way'~?"_

"_W-Waaah?!" beet red, Gozumaru couldn't help but instinctively back away from his assistant, finding his suggestive words much more disturbing and embarrassing than they had been meant to be. "S-S-Stupid, stupid, stupid Mezu! The... There's no way I...!"_

"_W-Wait a minute, you guys!" Tsurara half-yelled, the skin of her face stinging from flushing red as she gripped Shouei's hood a little tightly. "Don't talk about this kind of thing in front of children!"_

_Remembering there were two little boys staring up at them with obvious interest, the two Gyuuki-gumi members obediently dropped the subject. And while Gozumaru tried to regain his composure after giving his assistant a well-deserved punch on the back of his head, the assistant himself kept giggling secretly at how his master was unsuccessfully attempting to hide his flushing face._

_Tsurara continued to eye them cautiously from Shouei's shoulder, until she was sure what had just happened wouldn't be repeated. When she went back to her previous position, she failed to see Shouei releasing a breath of relief, as well as she had failed to feel she had been pressing her chest against his own while speaking to the ones walking behind her. Now starting to sweat slightly as he was able to blush even more, the young heir had wondered for a bit exactly what part of her could be small or flat in Gozumaru's eyes, but soon decided not to think too much about it while she was with him, or it would only affect him more. Thankfully, they had already reached their destination, for her room was just a few steps ahead._

"_Are you really gonna be okay, Yuki Onna?" as everyone stopped by the shouji doors of the aide's place, Nattou-Kozou asked again for confirmation, this time with a little less concern._

"_I'm alright now, guys." Tsurara gave the children a sisterly smile, feeling she had been repeating herself for the hundredth time. "You can go back to whatever you were doing, but this time, be more careful."_

_Nodding, the children left without looking behind, hurrying back to their chores and to help cleaning the mess they had accidentally caused. As the head aide and the one that had her in his hold watched them disappear around the first corner, the Gyuuki-gumi heir eyed them with a certain interest, as if pondering with himself about something regarding the two._

"_You know~" Mezumaru teased with a grin, interrupting his thoughts, "if you want to stay with her, I won't stop you~"_

_Hearing the obscurely playful young man, the brunet's blush came back in full power. Stay with her? Alone with her? In her room? "I... I don't know what you're talking about!" he blurted out loudly. Taking notice of the unnecessary rise of tone in his voice, he opted for continuing speaking in such manner, so that he could not only mask his mistake but also reach Tsurara's ears, "Come on, stupid Yukinko has taken too much of our time already!"_

_Turning her head around, Tsurara glared the Gyuuki-gumi head before childishly sticking out her tongue at his back as he left. Mezumaru did nothing but giggle at how clueless his master was of the response he had received, before waving good-bye to both the raven-haired maiden and the Hihi-gumi heir. In reply, Tsurara waved back while Shouei bowed his head slightly._

_After the two were gone just like the children had been, but in an opposing direction, Shouei noticed how awkward things could be now that he was alone with his admirable "Nee-san", as he felt both the urge to let her go the quickest possible and the need to have her with him the longest possible. Such things only made him more nervous around her, but he tried to ignore it all as he skillfully slid her shouji doors open with one of his feet and let himself in, careful not to hurt her._

_Once they were inside, he took notice of how large the place was. If he remembered it well, Kejourou also used to live in that room, but she had moved into her husband's after getting married. Looking around, he found the room pretty empty, which probably meant most of it had been occupied by her before she left. Managing not to frown, he secretly wondered if the one in his arms didn't feel sad for living alone in that spacious place, after sharing it with a friend for so long. For a second, he was even able to automatically picture how life could be if he moved there with her, wondering if that could make her feel less lonely. Of course, it was only a matter of seconds for him to mentally kick the idea off his mind, lowering his head as he blushed more. And, s__topping by the futon lying neatly on the floor, as if waiting for its owner's arrival, he carefully placed the sapphire-eyed young woman on the spot, "There you go, Nee-san."_

"_Thank you, Shouei-kun." she flashed him a grateful, warm smile, making his heart skip a beat at the sound of his name again. "You're such a good boy."_

"_T-T-That was nothing." he muttered shyly, still looking down to hide his red cheeks as he let go of her completely. Being alone with her in her room was making his chest and face feel hotter than usual, as well as his heart was starting to race a little in anticipation. In the midst of that, a realization hit him._

_Wasn't what they had just done a lot like how a man would carry his wife to bed after a wedding?_

_He wasn't quite sure about it, but from the little he knew of western weddings, newly-wed husbands were supposed to carry their wives in the very style he had been carrying the so respected head aide to her room after the ritual of union had been completed. And, obviously, the destination would be to the place where said union would be consummated._

_A marriage bed._

"_...uei-kun?" the poor young heir's mind would have been completely polluted with the most absurd ideas regarding the situation he was in, had his old friend not called for him, her voice sounding far away in his ears. However, it was still enough to snap him out of his embarrassing thoughts, as well as make him notice he had been staring at the tatami for too long. "Is something wrong?" she asked out of concern, tilting her head to be able to look at his face while adjusting herself in her sitting position._

"_Aaaah, Nee-san, you shouldn't...!" seeing she was about to absent-mindedly sit on her swollen ankle, Shouei instinctively prevented her from doing so by placing his hands on her waist and bringing her back to her previous position. When he finally took notice of what he was doing, he immediately threw his hands up high, as if they had been burned, "F-F-Forgive me, Nee-san!"_

"_M-Maa... i-it's okay..." she dismissed him slowly, her face becoming warm._

_Feeling he could no longer take the pressure of being in the presence of the ocean blue-eyed aide for any longer, the silver and scarlet-haired one rose to his feet, thinking it was about time he left, even though he didn't really want to. "Just... be more careful, okay, Nee-san? I-I'll be going now."_

"_Ah, can't you stay for a bit of ocha?"_

"_Eh?" surprised by the question, the tall young man froze in his tracks. Cha? Alone with her? In her room?_

"_Ah, it's just... it's... it's been so long..." as soon as he turned around to face her, she lowered her head a little, her huge eyes alternating between looking up at him and down at her hands as she played with her own small fingers. "There's a lot I wish to catch up with, s-so I wanted to use this opportunity to talk to you properly... that is, if you have the time."_

_Staring at her a little blankly for a couple of seconds, Shouei tried to process what he had just heard. With his face slowly becoming redder, he took notice of how more good things were happening to him. She was making a rather rare offer of spending some time alone with him to have a long friendly talk while sipping cha, which she was willing to make for him and him only. There was no way he could refuse such a kind invitation. And, even though staying in the same room as her for long could only have more embarrassing effects on him, he believed the excess of joy sprouting in his heart could compensate for them as he stammered, "T-T-That's... that's not a problem at all...! Like I said, I'm not really doing anything right now."_

"_Really? That's great~!" she brought her hands together, her face lightening up in a priceless way. "Then, is kamairicha okay?"_

~o0o~

_Water – that was all he had asked for. Yet it seemed like his mother and her co-worker thought he deserved more, as they kindly offered him a fair amount of suggestive comments regarding his personal servant and the one with her in his arms during his quick stop at the kitchen while the other female just watched as she helped the two of them cleaning and cooking. Still, his efforts not to let himself show how much said comments truly made him feel were compensated as none of the three seemed to notice how incredibly annoyed and irritated their playful sarcasm and ironies were making him. And, after he was done drinking his blissful water and feeling better to start walking again, he left the place with one thing in mind – to go see his injured aide, as he headed straight to her room. And this time, his intention was not to just observe things from a distance. He actually wanted to see if she was alright for himself and make sure she would properly rest, as she was told._

_That was what he had been determined to do, until he reached the shouji of her room._

"_Come on, Shouei-kun." he heard Tsurara's playful voice from the thin screen of the doors. "I didn't ask you to stay for you to apologize non-stop."_

_Stopping suddenly, instead of knocking on the doorframe, the Wakagashira decided to stay outside and listen closely to the conversation inside. She was still with Shouei? Alone? In her room?_

"_I know... but I really can't help it." soon enough, he was able to hear the oh-so-introvert older man's voice replying. "I-I mean, I took liberty to take decisions for Tsurara-nee-san. I could see you were uncomfortable and unsatisfied back there, but I... really felt like I had to. I'm sorry about that..."_

"_That's quite alright, I think." She said while releasing a blow, "I just want to go back to work soon."_

"_Yes..." Shouei sighed, "and that's why, at the same time, I'm not sorry at all."_

"_Eh?"_

"_Nee-san..." He asked out of the blue, his tone becoming a little serious, "why don't you value yourself a little more?"_

"_U-Uh?" she blinked a few times. Seeing that, Shouei sighed again, unaware that outside the room, Rikuo did the same, unimpressed with the girl's confusion._

_Of course she wouldn't understand the real meaning of that question. For someone as self-sacrificing and persistent as her, who didn't seem to consider her own welfare a priority in any situation whatsoever, teaching how to value herself would be the same as teaching a blind person how to see or a deaf one how to hear._

"_A~ah... this won't really go anywhere." Shouei waved her dismissingly, not able to hide the hint of frustration in his voice. "Sorry, Nee-san. Forget about it."_

"_Eh? Oh, okay..." even though the servant still seemed quite a bit clueless, it seemed her usual curiosity was not as active as usual that day as she complied._

_Frowning while smiling resentfully as he heard her reply, Rikuo allowed himself to lean against the nearby wall. Thoughtfully, he brought one of his hands close to his face, staring at his open palm. Even with the home-made birthday gift he had received the year before, his hands couldn't escape from the mistreatment they would receive during his training, paperwork or Yakuza matters. Needless to say, the rest of his body was just the same. He, who shouldered the weight of hundreds of clansmen, had changed a lot within time, becoming stronger in many ways. And the effects of that were easily spotted in his authoritative and protective figure, through the many marks, callouses and scars he had earned ever since he assumed his position._

_However, his aide was totally different. Unlike him, he highly doubted anyone would ever be able to guess the amount of work she had to do every day or the many dangers she had been through during her life by looking at her. In fact, he doubted anyone would ever have the smallest of the ideas she could be involved with anything regarding the Yakuza world just by her appearance, for she didn't bear a single apparent proof of that. Her looks denoted nothing other than a delicate and tiny young woman, as if she was made of a thin shell of ice that could easily break with a simple touch. Still, by the way she smiled cheerfully, he also doubted anyone would ever think she didn't enjoy her job, no matter how disproportional it could seem to her fragile-looking body. Because, beneath said body, lay an exceptionally unyielding spirit._

_And he knew that better than anyone._

_Before he had officially forged the loyalty pledge with her through Sakazuki, she had showed very little experience with Yakuza action. During one of her first combats, she lost miserably and had to endure the shame of being rescued by her master, while she had been supposed to provide him safety. Still, even badly injured, she would still insist to fight and be of use to him, although she had ended up being the opposite. Back then, even though he was aware of his attraction for her, his impression of her skills was low, and that sometimes would make him treat her as if she was a burden. Not only him, but the rest of their comrades as well, thought that staying home suited her much more, for she had never received any sort of preparation to be able to face life-risking situations, unlike them. In other words, everyone pretty much used to look down on her when it came to battles, even though no one would dare to underestimate her job with anything regarding housework._

_But one night, all of that changed._

_Not long after she had been defeated for the first time, a single occasion had been able to completely turn the vision everyone had of her as she marked her first memorable victory against an enemy by saving the Sandaime's life when no one else had been able to. As everyone had found themselves opponents whom they were tied with, the only hope of the great leader, who was on the verge of death, was the only of his underlings that had not been challenged. And, much to the surprise not only of the Nura-gumi, but of everyone else in the battlefield, the main house's head aide, who had never had any time to be able to improve the scarce knowledge and strength she had in terms of battling, put her life on the line and guaranteed her master's win. It was also only then that the Wakagashira actually leave his back to her, being the first to have his unquestionable trust. In such a short span of time, pretty much no one of the other Nura members had gotten that far, so it had been quite a shock that someone as unprepared as her was capable of so much._

_All out of her pure and strong will._

_But it hadn't stopped from there. She would do more and more every day, being able to prove herself to be a worthy servant, and her master was really proud of her for that. Still, no matter how much pride he felt, he couldn't help but also feel utterly worried about her well-being. Within each day, she would exceed her limits, and within each battle, she would throw her life away for his sake more often. Although that was exactly what she was supposed to do as his subordinate and showing his preoccupation over her welfare would only offend her honor, he really couldn't help it. He really was grateful for her assistance and loyalty, but there was no way he could approve how reckless she could become at times. In some occasions, she was even more daring than the better-trained fighters, being almost always the one to stick by his side no matter what, and surprisingly the only one to come for him when he found himself in exit-less life-or-death situations. Still, much to his amazement, even while enduring all of that, she would always be smiling._

_At the thought of her smile, Rikuo's own resentful one disappeared from his lips, which became a thin line as he stared down at nothing in particular, while memories started registering in his mind. Recordings of experiences in battlefields began to flash before his eyes, of times he was feeling a mixture of impotence and fury, but was saved by one simple yet significant gesture._

_A smile –** her** smile._

"_Rikuo-sama, I finally found you!" the pitiful leader had heard his head aide's happy-go-lucky voice speaking to him, after saving him from one last blow by an enemy's sword._

_One of said enemy's follower had been able to hit him in the head, causing him to feel disoriented and nauseous and a fair quantity of blood coming from his head to reach his eyes. With some of his senses blocked and not able to stand on his feet properly, he had almost faced death, had he not received the great help of his most faithful servant. And, after saving him and helping him recover by both cleaning his eyes with her kimono and buying him time, she had been of great assistance to defeating the enemy for good, as she won her own match against the follower that had been able to strike a hard hit on her precious master._

"_Ah...! Rikuo-sama, it's you...!" Tsurara's voice was played on the back of the ruby-eyed heir once again, but this time, it was weak and hoarse, for she was about to fall unconscious. As her image started becoming clearer in his mind, his breathing stopped momentarily as pain pierced through his heart. Around the two of them, the battlefield started resurfacing in his mind as well, together with his powerful enemy ahead and his defeated Kumi behind._

_The vast surroundings had been destroyed and all of the Nura members had been completely beaten up by a single man, including the second heir himself. In fact, he was the one who had experienced the enemy wrath the most, as his body was mostly numb and covered in serious injuries from their fierce combat. He had been able to stand by a miracle, after he pushed his will to its limits to be able to get up and keep fighting, upon hearing his determined aide declaring she would avenge her fallen master. However, he had__ only__ been in time to see the most horrifying scene of his whole life – due to the fact she had already been weakened during the previous battle and that she was fighting alone, the obvious difference in strength between her and the enemy nearly led her to her doom as she was literally sent flying to her commander._

_She had been on the verge of her consciousness when she saw he was standing right behind her as she tried to regain her balance. And the moment she had turned around to look at him, he swore nothing could hurt any more in the world than to see her in the state she was. In a blink of eye, not even all the insane pain in his body could match the one of seeing her so badly wounded and dirty, drenched in sweat, tears and blood. The pride of having her face such an invincible enemy for his sake when no one else had been able to had been nothing compared to the trauma of almost losing her, as he found himself incapable of moving while trying to process the reality in front of him._

_But then, a few seconds after the two of them had locked stares, it happened – her face lit up instantly. Wherever she had been able to find enough power to smile happily in relief was beyond his comprehension, but it was a sign she would be alright, so it was enough to ease a little part of him. And, as if nothing but him existed in the world, she continued to speak in broken sentences, "Thank goodness... you're alive..." Right before she fainted from all the abuse her body had been receiving, she used the last bits of strength she had left to lean against his chest and hold onto him as tightly as she could, her peculiar coldness somewhat giving him a feeling of security. However, it was not even close to being enough to erase the burning fury towards the one who dared to hurt her building up inside him. "I'm so glad... really... now I can continue... to protect... you..."_

_Another memory soon followed, not very different from the last one in terms of environment. Though the event currently being remembered had happened inside of Edo, instead of its outskirts, like in the previous memory, the Nura-gumi's Sandaime's surroundings were severely damaged and the city was dangerously close to what could be called "chaos"._

_Panting heavy and tiredly, he was more than glad he had managed to win the fight that had just happened between him and a member of an enemy Kumi, after yet again being saved from certain death by his most trusted assistant. And, due to the circumstances of the ambient and the battle, he couldn't have helped but felt incredibly disgusted of his own body, as he had been covered in mud to the point his once white hair and clothes had become almost completely black and gooey. While the most unbearable of the stenches emanated from him and his clothes and hair glued to his skin, he had a pretty sickening taste of what it felt like to have the impression his body was melting down, as all the foul substances stuck on him cascaded down disturbingly. Definitely, one of his worst experiences ever._

_After all, it had been almost as if his body was rotting alive._

_It had been shortly after he took that conclusion that he sensed a presence approaching him, embracing his contemptible form from behind. Upon turning around, he had been more than surprised to see his aide examining his body with her own hands while leaning against him. During the fight, she had miraculously managed not to dirty herself in the slightest, but she still hadn't seemed to mind staining herself at all, if it was for his sake. Apparently not minding either the terrifying smell or the horrid condition of her master, she had yet again flashed him that smile, in response of his refusal of her kind gesture, claiming she should worry about herself and not him. __Still, regardless of his obvious worry that she could become infected with all the mud and whatnot from her contact with him, she had seemed to ignore it as she kept touching his back and smiling up at him, "I just wanted to make sure Rikuo-sama was alright."_

"_Such an idiot..." with a hand covering both of his eyes, Rikuo muttered to himself, dismissing his memories. As his chest started feeling heavy and tight with emotions, he began to feel the need to see his aide's tranquilizing smile one more time. The smile of the one who would always be there for him, the one who would always accept him, the one who would always do her best for him – just as she had vowed during Sakazuki._

_And to think someone like that had such a strong aversion for feeling useless, to the point she would negate rest, even when she needed some. Even he would be begging for a break every now and then, so he really couldn't understand how someone would enjoy working as much as her. And that was one more reason why he had to make her have her well-deserved time for herself, at least once in her life, he decided, rubbing the bridge of his nose. After taking a deep breath, he finally felt recomposed enough to make his entrance._

"_Tsurara." he called rather softly, knocking on the doorframe slightly._

"_Eh? Rikuo-sama?" as he opened the doors, he was welcomed by Shouei's bowing head in a friendly greeting and Tsurara's frowning brows, "Why are you here? You should be resting!"_

"_I heard about what happened, so I came to see you." he said honestly while walking up to her on his own slow pace and remembering the events of the kitchen. "Kaa-san told me you didn't want to take a break."_

"_T-That's because...!" she began, but was never really able to justify herself properly as her master knelt down in front of her and held her head from behind, forcing her forehead to meet his, together with her uneasy sapphire eyes locking stares with his serious and commanding burgundy ones. Her hands automatically shot up to her chest, as if responding to a defensive instinct, while her cheeks gradually became pink. And she was about to ask him what he was thinking while doing such a thing, even being obviously aware of Shouei's awe at the scene, when he started speaking first._

"_I don't want to hear excuses, Yuki Onna." his smooth tenor voice said, clear and sternly, looking at her so fixatedly that, for a moment, she could have sworn he was capable of seeing through her. "Do as you're told. That's an order."_

_Red as a pepper, all the aide could do was to stare up at her superior a little more before finally coming up with an answer – the only one she knew she could give, upon hearing the last word of his last statement. With trembling lips, she sputtered, "Y-Yes..."_

_It had taken him a few more seconds of staring straight into her surmising azure pools until the Wakagashira was sure she actually meant what she had said. "Good." relaxing, he finally let his expression loosen in satisfaction, a smile approaching his lips as he patted her head slightly. "Shouei." after he was done treating his aide as though she was a little pet, which caused her to react in a way he couldn't help but laugh inwardly at, he turned around to face the future leader of the allied Kumi._

"_Ye-Yes, Rikuo-sama?" his old training pal asked._

"_Take care of her." he requested gently, and, upon receiving a nod, he rose to his feet. Looking at his raven-haired aide from above, a slight hint of seriousness returned to him as he added, "And Tsurara."_

"_Ah, yes?"_

"_If you disobey me, I will enlarge your break time as a punishment." he said simply, turning his back to her and taking his early leave._

"_E-EEEEH?!" appalled with the decree, Tsurara let out a surprised scream, making it quite clear that, even though she would obey him for the time being, she was still cogitating the possibility of escaping as soon as Shouei left._

"_See you, guys." Rikuo waved, ignoring the servant's indignant "are you serious?" look as he closed the shouji doors._

"_P-Please, wait! Rikuo-sama~~~~!" her muffled voice desperately called, but he pretended not to hear her as he slowly paced back in the direction of his room, still inwardly laughing at her failed attempts to change his mind and impossibility to come after him. But his fun was short-lived._

_Truth be told, he didn't really want to leave, not only because he wanted to spend time with his important one, especially now that she was hurt, but also because he wasn't fond of the idea of seeing her with other men, much less being so intimate, much lesser in a closed room. Even unquestionably trusting his aide and the men she usually had contact with and knowing, the idea didn't please him the slightest bits. For that reason, no matter how many times he tried to tell himself it wasn't a big deal, it would still bother him. Still, it was not as if he had any choice. Duty had been calling him since early, and he had already wasted too much time._

"Uuugh..." seated in front of his desk, the Wakagashira miserably found himself constantly rubbing his face to distract himself and push away his stupid ideas about whatever could be happening in Tsurara's room while he was bound to be stuck in his own.

With no success, he let out a deep frustrated breath, allowing his head to fall loosely and land on the hard wood of his desk. Lonely and exasperated, he could only pity himself for not being able to keep his reasoning straight, for even the smallest things would remind him of his aide, making his annoyingly insistent mind come back to his previous thoughts about her and her current companion. In the state he was, even the easiest of the tasks, like finishing the little bit of work he had left, could take hours. And during said hours, he would sometimes catch himself doing foolish things, prevenient of his distraction.

Much like what he had just done.

"Gah?!" as his eyes randomly lay on a nearby mirror, Rikuo took notice of some black stains all over his face. With his jaw dropping a little bit, he started touching his cheeks to see if said stains were either on his face or on his mirror. But when the result of the inspection only made another stain appear, he brought his open palms up, finally understanding what had happened. He had managed to get some ink on his hands without noticing as he wrote, and, upon rubbing his face with them, he ended up getting ink on it too. "Dammit..." he muttered to himself as he began cleaning his skin with his yukata, glad he usually wore black.

And, for a moment, he wished Tsurara would be done with her rest soon.

~o0o~

The Souhei Kurotabou was at the very end of his wit.

As he walked through the Nura mansion's outermost corridors, he found himself yet again mentally debating over and over about the very person that had been haunting him for the past week. The innocent little Japanese maid was going to be the death of him one day, he was sure of it. She was making him slowly become insane without even trying, and, after what had happened that morning, not only the frequency of his thoughts about her grew, but their intensity, as he started considering the possibility that there was more to her feelings towards him than what met the eye.

He had certainly found her behavior towards him a little bit odd before the events of earlier. From what he had seen, she admired and was very grateful to him, so he had interpreted that as a sign she saw him as something like a reliable old friend. But after all that had happened between the two of them in such a short span of time, he began to seriously wonder if there was any chance she could think of him the same way he thought of her.

First, there was the day when he had saved her from the malicious intentions of lowly men. She had seemed quite satisfied to be in his arms, as if she had always belonged there. Because, even though she had been pretty silent and refused to look at him, he could still see the happy smile she had been hiding within the shadows of her bangs.

Then, when they had reached home and he offered to help her with her injury, he had been dangerously close to doing something unthinkable without even noticing it himself. Still, he doubted she didn't understand his unconscious actions or didn't have her suspicions about what he could be doing while bringing his face so close to hers. And what had intrigued him back then was that he received no reaction whatsoever, except from a furious blush and a rushed good-bye. He had thought he had scared her off, but he had been quite wrong, and was thankful for that.

Not so long after that, there was the night before, in which he had pretty much committed very indecent acts towards her. That time, it definitely had been impossible for her not to understand what he had been meaning to do to her. By then, he had been sure she would never want to see his face, but again, she had surprised him by showing the same sorts of reactions of a few days before on the following morning. And what more, she had actually lied to a friend for his sake, before saying the words that would repeat themselves again and again in his mind until the present time.

_"You're making it look like you did something actually bad!"_

With that simple phrase, she had made it more than clear she didn't think what he had done to her had been malicious at all, and then even confessed him she hadn't fainted because of shock and fear from what he had done to her. Obviously, that only added more to the confused older man's curiosity, which was of one kind that he had never experienced before. It was too strong, almost unbearable, for it kept generating thousands of questions at the same time, which kept overloading his mind, torturing him slowly as he tried to stay passive about it and not show any more signs of his suffering to any of his comrades. However, on the contrary of what one could think, what tortured him was not the quantity of questions, but his incapability to properly respond to them. That awakened the desperate need to search for the young feline-faced maid and demand answers, especially for the question that bothered him the most – the one that, once answered, could either make him the happiest or the saddest possible.

What exactly were the maid's feelings towards him?

Of course, things were not that easy. He couldn't simply come to the one he sought for and just throw his questions onto her. As frightening and difficult as it could seem to him, if he wanted to fulfill his objective, he needed to have a long and calm talk to her, in a time both of them could be available and somewhere no one would find them, so that there wouldn't be anyone or anything to interrupt or meddle on their affairs. And it was with that in mind that he nervously but determinately marched to her encounter.

Torii Natsumi was at the very end of her wit.

As she walked towards the Nura mansion's outermost corridors, she found herself yet again mentally debating over and over about the very person that had been haunting her for the past ten years of her life. The good-hearted and skilled Souhei was going to be the death of her one day, she was sure of it. She was coming to a point she was almost sure that was very close to creating an obsession for him, for now she was starting to ponder about matters she had once deemed to be impossible to ever happen. And, regardless of how much she tried to convince herself that it was all stupidity of her part and that she would only end up hurting herself later, there seemed to be no way she could get rid of the new conclusions she was starting to take about her "hero" and what he could feel about her. At least, not after all that had happened between them the past days.

After he had saved her the same way in a similar situation from what he had done in the past and offered to take care of her little wound, she had been sure he was still the same as before, and she was more than thankful for that. However, by the way their talk had ended, she didn't know what to think of him anymore. She would have been lying if she said she didn't know what he had tried to do for a second, yet the blank look he had in his blue eyes as he brought his face close to hers and the way he had quickly drawn back showed how confused he had been with himself and what he had almost done. That, needless to say, confused her quite a bit as well. It was then that questions started popping up in her head non-stop, as she found herself unable to forget about what had almost occurred before she ran away from his room.

Later that night, after having given that short moment a lot of thought, she had come to the conclusion that what Kurotabou had seemed to want to do to her was most likely just a spur of the moment. After all, it would be too much ingenuity to say it is uncommon for people to catch themselves doing something they don't mean to, so that could perfectly have been his case, even though it would be quite improbable for one to become so outright distracted as quickly as he did in the situation they had been. And it was with that in mind that Natsumi had decided to take a little walk before going to sleep, willing to rid herself of the foolish ideas she had been having about the raven-haired man as well as his little mistake, if she had the ability to do so.

What she had earned instead had been the one thing she had once thought that was impossible to ever happen between the two of them – a kiss. With no more or less than a smile, the man of her affections had claimed her first kiss with his own, which had caused her to lose consciousness for many reasons. The most important of them was that, from such lewd and inappropriate act, the possibility he could feel for her the same she felt for him was brought back. And said possibility had become even bigger with his words and actions towards her that morning.

However, she could not yet get ahead of herself and go on creating hopes and assumptions about anything, for the only one who could actually prove her right was her savior himself. And maybe he could have done that earlier, with whatever he had wanted to tell her while she was in his room, before he was interrupted by her best friend. For that reason, she had come to the decision of going to him and personally asking him about it, when she had the time. Unfortunately, for her, that time would have to take a little while, and the more she was obligated to wait for an opportunity, the more the many questions regarding him would sprout in her mind – overworking, tiring and torturing questions. And, on the contrary of what one could think, what tortured her was not the quantity of questions, but her incapability to properly answer them, especially the one that fed up her curiosity the most.

What exactly were the Souhei's feelings towards her?

"Whoa?!" a surprised gasp filled the maid's ears as she was stopped in the middle of her tracks. Lost in her inner world of thoughts, she had, for a brief moment, forgotten about her surroundings as she robotically kept walking with a blank face. And while not paying attention to what was in front of her, she had most likely hit someone with the pile of clothes she was carrying. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for anyone nearby to gasp while the sudden collision of the basket in her hands caused some of the clothes to fall over her head, blocking her vision.

"Ah...!" Managing not to let the basket fall, Natsumi embarrassedly bowed, glad she had clothes hiding her red face as she spoke, "I-I'm sorry!"

"T-That's quite alright, Natsumi-san..." was the answer she received, which sent shivers up her spine and slowly made her unprepared heart start racing as she recognized the owner of the voice that had awkwardly dismissed her.

"Ku... Kurotabou-san...?" she asked faintly, her face heating up a little too quickly within the fabrics her occupied hands couldn't take out of her way. And yet again, the response she got didn't make anything better as the clothes on her head were gently removed, revealing the half-smiling face of the zealous Souhei before her.

"Y-Yes. Are you alright?" he asked in concern, eyeing the girl up and down to see if she hadn't hurt herself anywhere.

"Yes! Yes, I'm totally fine, thank you!" she blurted out, avoiding his constant stare by searching for any pieces she could have let fall down. Finding none, she was able to foresee that a little moment of awkward silence between the two of them was on its way, and couldn't help but take that as the blessed opportunity she had been waiting for, even though she was still not quite free to be able to have the talk she had been longing for. Still, she didn't even know if she would actually have any time later, and definitely didn't want to risk having to spend another day dealing with her deadly sea of unanswered questions. With that in mind and taking a determinate breath, she uneasily began, "Hum... Kurotabou-san... e-earlier this morning, you seemed like you wanted to tell me something, before Maki barked in and... well..."

"Eh? O-Oh, yes...! In fact, I-I..." Seeming surprised that she still remembered such a thing, Kurotabou was about to answer her just as uneasily as she had asked the question when he was cruelly interrupted yet again – this time, by **his** co-worker.

"OI, KUROTABOU!" a loud, obnoxious masculine voice echoed through the whole place, able to make the two raven-haired ones jump slightly and the shouji doors nearby to shake slightly. "Where the hell are you, rascal?! We have patrolling to do!"

"W-Who...?" Natsumi gasped, her cat-like eyes wide and her ponytail raising slightly, resembling how a feline would react in the presence of danger.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my best friend." Kurotabou inwardly rolled his eyes, trying to hide his annoyance from the startled young woman as a vein popped on his cheek.

"Come on, time to leave! I'll show the Bakeneko ladies which of us can handle more cups of the catnip cocktail!"

"Oh, my partner." the seemgingly collected young man answered as gently as he could, but all he got was a confused look from the girl, which showed she hadn't been able to hear him over his competitive pal's shouts. He then opted for leaning down and whispering in her ear, since it would be the only way for her to listen as the irritating third party insisted to make excessive noise. But that line of reasoning still wasn't enough to stop the Souhei or the maid from blushing as he hesitantly spoke, "A-About what you had asked before... I really did... and I still do want to tell you something. But, you see, 'duty' calls. You also seem to have a lot of things to do right now, but... I'll be free after lunchtime. So... let's meet again today, right here. I-Is that alright?"

"KUROTABOU!"

"O-Of course it is!" she answered without thinking, certain she would be able to manage to talk to him later no matter what. "A-And, if you don't mind me asking... what you want to tell me... is it something important?"

When the azure-eyed man took a couple of seconds to stare at her while seeming to ponder about how to answer her question, Natsumi had almost given in to the impulse of diving her face into the pile of clothes again out of embarrassment. But then, unexpectedly, a small smile made its way to his lips as he was able to forget about his own restlessness while nodding at her, "Yes."

And with that, both of them happily parted ways, completely unaware they were being watched by someone from a certain distance.

While taking the clothes hanging outside off the chords tied around the threes and putting them on her own basket, much like how Natsumi had done not long before, Setsura had split the past minutes carefully observing her comrade as she willingly helped the young maid. Coldly glaring Kurotabou's back as he left, totally unaware of her presence, she whispered to herself the resume of her conclusions about what she had just seen, "That lolicon..."

~o0o~

It was finally over.

Tsurara could barely believe a whole hour had passed so quickly. Thanks to Shouei, her impression was that her break time had literally flown by, and she couldn't be more thankful to that, for it would have been really hard to bear the boredom and loneliness of having been forced to rest without the nice long talk the two of them had had. Most likely, she would have been doomed to stay on her futon and try to sleep, since it would be the only thing she could do, but wouldn't be able to even keep her eyes closed, eager to go back to work.

But now, at last, she was free from the little imprisonment in her room, and only then that she could notice that, maybe, just maybe, she had actually been in need of some rest. After all, thanks to that, not only her wound didn't hurt anymore, nor was it red or swollen, but she also felt like she could move it normally again. And it was after proving that to her white and red-haired friend that she was granted permission to leave, thanking him with a quick hug in the process. Of course, after taking notice of the awkwardness of her actions, she immediately let the blushing young man go as they parted ways in the halls.

The first thing she did after being released was, obviously, to go to her master's room and see how he was doing and if he didn't need anything from her. But, upon sliding his shouji doors open and letting herself in, she found no signs of him. Seeing the pile of unfinished scrolls on his desk, she assumed he had gone out for a little and would soon return, so she decided to wait for him. And, while she was at it, something lying on top of his folded futon caught her attention.

A red haori.

Remembering the talk she had had with the heir a few days before, she wondered why he would have suddenly decided to change the color he had once said that fit the one being that suited him the most in the world. With a hint of an accute pain striking her chest, she concluded it could have been for her sake, noticing it was his same old haori, but its peaceful navy blue had been turned into an equally beautiful flashy crimson. She then concluded he had probably been lying when he said he wasn't wearing his haori because of the morning heat (even because the day was actually shady), while it was on the process of being dyed. She wondered why, though, since she couldn't think of any necessity for him to hide it.

"M... Maybe I'm the one who is wrong...?" she questioned herself, kneeling down as she succumbed to the wish of inspecting the piece better. "Oh, well... just a tiny bit..." she muttered to herself with a little smile, taking the haori with both hands and, unfolding it with a single movement, she let herself into it without the permission of its respective owner. Once she had adjusted the large haori around her, she couldn't resist the temptation walking to the front of her master's mirror to take a small glimpse of how she looked with his cloth.

Spinning around twice with a slight blush, she embarrassedly took a mental picture of the moment, while commenting with herself about how her master had grown, for the haori was so loose on her that it almost reached her knees. And, even though the Sandaime's usual sent was missing, she could still faintly sense the effect of his embrace within the piece that usually hung loose on his strong shoulders, as if what she had around her body were his arms instead. Still, even though said effect was pretty comfortable, it certainly lacked the soothing feeling of security the real thing had.

After all, her master's grip was the only thing that would always make her feel at home no matter what.

Within a little while of contemplation, Tsurara was about to take off the haori and fold it back into its place, but was momentarily frozen by the shouji doors being slid open, followed by a familiar figure coming in – the room's owner himself. Awkwardly, the two of them stared at each other with identical surprised expressions, not daring to move, until the Wakagashira was able to chew on what his aide could be doing in his absence, which caused a smirk to form on his lips. By the second she saw his body language changing, he knew she had understood what was coming in her direction, and that was exactly why he would make sure she wouldn't escape as he closed the shouji doors behind him.

"Eh, warming yourself up with spring right around the corner?" he asked sarcastically, walking up to his motionless aide. "Not very much like you at all, Yuki Onna."

With her cheeks matching the color of the clothing that didn't belong to her, Tsurara was at last able to make her voice come out, but through stammering messily, "W-W-W-Wha...? I-I'm not warming myself up at all, Waka! I was j-just looking for tears!"

"Why would you have to wear it for that?" with an arch of a silver brow, he questioned her. "And, you know, I was with Kana-chan just now. If she had come with me, I wonder what she would think of you wearing my stuff without my consent." he jokily added, enjoying the expression of panic his personal servant made at the thought of having issues with her future mistress.

"N... No waaay~!" the white maiden's hands flew to her cheeks as her sapphire pools shrank in despair at the idea of being caught in the act by the heiress. "I-I-I swear I was just...!"

"Tsurara."

At the unusually smooth call, the young woman automatically raised her head to look at her commander, just in time to see him wrapping his arms around her. Slightly startled and embarrassed, her first reaction was to place her hands against his chest, but stopped herself from pushing him away before she did so after remembering the condition of his body. And so, she was left only with her words of protest as a way to back off her superior, but from her many experiences with similar situations, it was quite obvious to her that he would never listen. Still, it seemed like all he wanted was to have a calm moment of closure with her, rather than lure her into making it easy for him to steal one or more kisses, which meant there wasn't much need for resistance. Sighing, she decided to let him be, as long as he didn't try to advance on her again.

While in his hold, she couldn't help but close her eyes for a little, allowing herself to enjoy the moment. Her guilt was uncharacteristically much smaller than she would deem it to be as the happiness of being in the possession of the one thing she had been longing for just a minute before taking over her softened heart. And, much to the white-haired heir's surprise, the aide allowed herself to do the last thing he could expect as she wrapped her own thin and delicate arms around him while asking all too suavely, "What is it, Waka?"

"You... You did notice it, right?" he said after a little while of silence, unsure if he hadn't responded as quickly as he usually would because of the shock from his aide's actions or because of the tranquilizing effect of the sound of her voice. "That this isn't newly bought."

"Yes." she nodded slowly against his shoulder. "Why... did you dye your haori, Rikuo-sama?" she asked, unwittingly lowering her voice and making the hint of pain in it clear. But, as much as she feared the answer she could get about the change of the color that once had a meaningful symbolism regarding the relationship she had with the Wakagashira would deeply displease her, she knew that she couldn't bring herself to make him change his mind. That was why, with another silent sigh, she had decided she would continue to be mature enough to accept anything that could come at her without showing her true feelings about it. After all, what he would say next was most likely a hint that he was taking a step to the right direction towards his future, and that was exactly what she had been wishing for.

"Because I want you to smile more."

At the unexpected answer, Tsurara couldn't help but break the embrace for a moment, looking at her master straight in the eyes to make sure he was telling her the truth about his intentions. "E... Eh?"

"I noticed it, you know. You've been smiling a little less ever since I told you about this haori. No, rather, you've been smiling less ever since I first told you how I felt about you." he continued, truthful and a little melancholically. "Sometimes, I wish I could make you forget about everything that happened between us, so I could see you smiling much more often again. But of course I can't do that, because, in the end, I still want you no matter what."

"Eeeh?! W-Wait, Rikuo-sama..." with her hands up and her cheeks burning again, the one in white tried to stop the conversation right at that point, her confusion and bad feeling about where it could end up getting at rising.

"That's why," he ignored her as he continued, raising his tone a little. "yesterday, I decided that I would get rid of at least the most things possible that may make you remember about all of that. And you're wearing the starting point."

Hearing his words, the aide could do nothing but stare blankly at him for a while. In the process, she found herself constantly opening and closing her mouth as her chin started to tremble, like she had already done some times before when not knowing what to say at all. Finally, her eyes dropped to the floor as she lowered her head, and her master was about to ask her what the matter was, when her almost inaudible voice came out before his concerned one, "I-Idiot..."

"Haa?" he backed away a little, confusedly baffled at her reaction, which was the last thing he was hoping to receive.

"Rikuo-sama is an... idiooot!" had her voice not been muffled as she threw herself into her master's chest, Rikuo was sure the whole house would have heard her shout. Feeling quite a bit useless with his incapability to deal properly with feminine tears, all the Sandaime could do was to envelop the young woman with his strong arms yet again while petting her head slightly as she proceeded to wet his clothes, "You didn't... have to do something like... like that just for my sake..."

"H-Hey..." he began, the weight of guilt on his conscience being bigger than he would want to bear. "I did that for you to smile and yet you're crying...? W-What's wrong, Tsurara?"

"That's... that's because..." She answered between hiccups, "I made Waka worry..."

"Ou?" Sweat-dropping and desperate for means of making the girl stop wasting her tears for what he considered to be so little in comparison, he tried to retort with the first thing that came to him, "I-It's not like you made me–"

"Liiiiaaaar!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Mentally face-palming for only making things worse with such a lame argument and reminding himself she was more than aware he would never give up on something important to him if not for the sake of something else equally or more important, he asked as nicely as he could, "T-Then, should I dye it blue again?"

Surprisingly, the question seemed to have been effective enough to make the intensity of aide's cries diminish greatly as she gradually settled down to think about it. "N-No, it's alright..." she sniffled, her head still droopy as she had finally calmed enough to reply. "I like it that way too."

"Is that so?" she could feel his chest shaking in relief. "You like red as well?"

"Of course. It's Waka's eye color after all." she stated the obvious, using her kimono's yuki to both hide her wet face and dry it and promising herself to let her master think that was the reason she didn't want the haori to be dyed again.

Truthfully, Tsurara really did like her master's eye color just as much as she liked hers, but the fact that had not been the main motive of why she had decided to accept it for one of her master's most used pieces would stay as a secret from him for the time being. The real thing was her master's intention when dying it, which gave said piece even more meaning than it already had – as childish as it could be of her to think that way – since it now had two colors she deemed to be very special instead of just one. The first one was, of course, the passionate brilliant red that complemented her master's figure and matched the ruby shade of his eyes, and the other was the passive navy blue, which she was sure that was purposely not totally gone with the dying. After all, while she tried the haori in front of the mirror, she had been able to spot a little stain inside the clothing. Upon closer examination, she had understood the mark she had seen wasn't actually a stain, but a remnant of the significant color that her master had most likely refused to get completely rid of, for it was located in a rather suggestive and improbable spot.

The one that would be the closest to his heart.

"Hey, Tsurara." he called her uncharacteristically lowly after a little while of silence without looking at her.

"Yes?"

"Stay here for a little bit longer." was his simple and direct order.

"As you wish, Rikuo-sama."

Time had magically started running a little slower after that – or, at least, that was the impression the two of them had had as they spent the following two hours or so alone together in that very room, while Rikuo resumed writing his scrolls with his head soothingly lying on his aide's lap as she proceeded to feed him pieces of two tangerines he had brought within his yukata, which had been kindly given to him by his arranged wife herself. Successfully, he had managed to find his long-sought concentration again as she had managed to ignore the purposeful licking and slight biting of her little fingers. And, all the while, the two yet again found themselves sharing a long moment of comfortable silence, inwardly wishing that it would never end, for it was just too blissful.

After all, she was at last smiling like always again, just as he was at last able to finish his work.

~o0o~

"So it's this one, Kana-sama?" Saori asked her mistress, holding a simple pink kimono with stamps of lilac tulips in her hands.

"Yes, Rikuo-kun said this one would be more fitting for today." the heiress answered while elegantly brushing her chocolate-colored short hair in front of her mirror.

"What are you gonna do today, Kana-sama?" the blonde questioned again, unfolding the kimono and preparing it to be used.

"Oh, right. I haven't told you yet, have I?" Kana smiled slightly, watching her maid and old friend from her reflection. "Kiyotsugu-kun, Shima-kun and maybe Yura-chan will be coming here again today."

"Does this have anything to do with the fact the doujo is being cleaned today?" with one more question, the pecan-eyed one tried to hide her small embarrassment upon remembering the young man who went by the name of Kiyotsugu and his way of greeting her during his last visit.

"Yes. We'll be spending some time there this afternoon." her superior answered, thankfully oblivious of her unease.

"I see..." Saori said, her eyes drifting off elsewhere. "I hope they're here before **that**."

"What?" Kana asked, finally turning around as she was done with her hair.

"Look over there, Kana-sama." was the plain response. Following where the older female's finger was pointing at with her big hazel eyes, the Ienaga lady found herself looking out the shouji doors of her room that led to the outermost corridors, only coming to understand what her subordinate had meant after she saw how cloudy the sky was slowly becoming.

"Ah, seems like it's going to rain today..."

~o0o~

So, this is the end of another shitty chappie! Basically, this was one more chapter of pure ship tease and not much consistence, and I apologize for that. Now here comes your authoress with the usual looong notes!

First of all: happy late birthday, Daruma! And happy birthday, Tsurara (at least, where I am, it's still 1/11)!

Ah, I would like to give an important warning to you guys: I'm back to school, and this is my last year as high-scholar. You know what that means, right? I'll have to dedicate myself to my studies more than ever now, or else I won't be able to get into college. And if last year there were a few times that I delayed my update, I guess you can tell the same will happen this year, but more often. Still, no worries, because the end is close.

And now, it's safe to talk about the final chapter with you guys, since it's been out for a while, isn't it? The little topic I want to pick up this time is one that I believe that's bothering the majority: the open ending. Yes, it was a bit deceptive to not have an officially canon confirmation of who Rikuo ends up with, so now anyone can ship any character with him evermore. But worry not, fellow readers. Even though there wasn't an actual confirmation, I'm 99.9% sure that **the final winner was** **Tsurara**. Now, if you ask me how I can prove that, I'd say it's quite simple, really:

First of all, there's the obvious fact that the three main girls didn't get an equal role in the end. Though they seemed to have started equally (as damsels-in-distresses), they have obtained other ranks as the story developed, plot-wise speaking. Also, as Shiibashi-sensei himself stated on an interview, the main female lead of all is Tsurara. After her comes Yura, then Kana. And while Tsurara and Yura have big parts in the battles as Rikuo's aide and ally, Kana is the sort of supportive heroine that watches everything from a safe distance. Even in the last chapters, Tsurara's role was obviously the most prominent one amongst the three, the second being Yura's as she fought well at Aoi-shiro and assumed her position as heiress, and the third being Kana's as she watched everything from the main house.

Along the story, the strong hints of RikuTsura ship tease strengthened the idea of a "Tsurara ending" by the final chapters. There was also a bit of ship tease in the last chapter as well. There were spaces to show flashbacks of her and Rikuo and her over-analyzing the battle while not letting Kyoukotsu die. She also did the unimaginable and let Hagoromo-gitsune take Rikuo to Han'you village while everyone was hesitating about it. She even told everyone to trust her and asked her to take care of Rikuo. Not to mention, when Rikuo came back, she was obviously the one to greet him first and walked beside him while they exchanged smiles and everything. Meanwhile, Yura openly showed her commitment with her household and Kana openly showed that she is still afraid of youkai, which means the two of them are very unlikely to become future Nura brides. Because, in Yura's case, though the Keikain and the Nura are allies, mixing lineages would be far too problematic – even though it could be interesting, it would most likely make the two clans clash constantly. And, in Kana's case, we see she can deal with her fear of youkai every now and then, but she wouldn't be able to handle that 24/7.

This means things were leaning more in Tsurara's favor, not equally balanced amongst the girls (if that had been the case, **then** we would have had a real open ending). That's why, even if there wasn't a real confirmation, I think we can be sure Tsurara would be the chosen one in the future. Even because, given it how Rikuo is so young, it would be kind of OOC of him to just proclaim his love all of a sudden (come on, even Nurarihyon and Rihan took quite a while to find their "true loves"). That's why, be at rest, guys, and feel free to make fanfics of their possible future life together, or of them confessing to each other, or of them having more random romantic moments together than they already did, and whatnot. Lots of them. **Lots** of them, you read me?! ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

I also wanna take a little bit to thank you guys for once again making me reach another high mark with this story. So far, this work has +50 faves, +60 follows, and +200 reviews – this is the first time I've got this much with a story here. I think now I can say for good that this is the top fanfic of the NuraMago archive here in FanFiction. And I think you can't even imagine how happy this is making me and how it's motivating me to go on. I've been in a state of shock for a while after realizing this, and I still wonder what I did to get so much love from you guys. By the end of this story, I wonder if the awesome feedback you're giving me will still be like this. But, since the fandom is leaving, I doubt so. That's why I would like to ask you guys to stay with me until the very final moment: the Epilogue. In any case, thanks, folks. You're all extremely special to me!

Okay, enough of my rambling! On with the remarks!

1) I don't think I've portrayed tsundere Gozumaru and shy little Shouei all that accurately, so please, tell me what you think of their characterization in this chapter.

2) I feel like this chapter was just one big flashback. Oh, well, it couldn't be helped. I had to give space for Tsurara's harem, after all. I mean, for more ship tease (by the way, I just noticed that, although I have characters to ship the girls that like Rikuo with, I have none to ship the guys that like Tsurara with. Any ideas?). And I also wanted to give a big push to Tsurara, since last chapter was mostly for Kana.

3) Yes, this repetitive "With Tsurara? Alone? In her room?" thingy was on purpose, just like Natsumi thinking similar things to Kuro. Yup, I love creating dogmas, just like Shiibashi-sensei did. I think it makes my fanfic seem closer to the original story in a way.

4) Yes, Rikuo's memories were from Shikoku-hen (when Tsurara saved him from Tamazuki), Kyouto-hen (after the fight with Kyousai) and Tsuchigumo-hen (when Tsurara noticed he was actually alive). But, of course, I modified them so that they could fit.

5) Yes, Tsurara wearing Rikuo's haori was taken from the extra/voice drama of her trying Rikuo's school uniform and being caught by Kejourou and Kubinashi.

Replies, anons, replies!

eucliwoodscythe: Thank you very much for leaving a review, for wishing me Merry Christmas, for congratulating me for my birthday, everything!

Yup, 17. I feel like a grandma! Lol.

More and more effort within every update, just like you said. I'm so glad you guys notice that! *cries*

I'm glad you liked it!

Oh? You ship RikuKana?

Kyaaah, thank you again!

I know, right? I also love nose-bleeding Rikuo! I can't help but imagine how it could be if it was his night form nose-bleeding in the manga instead of day one, lol.

Anone: Wow, hum, thanks for reviewing.

And answering your question, the first two young women I described there were Bakeneko-gumi's members. They attended Kana and Rikuo when they visited Bakenekoya, but have no specific name. The third girl was Rinko (in case you don't remember her, she is a 1/8 snake youkai, descendant of Shiro Hebi, who only appears in the manga). Like I said on last chapter's author note, Rinko will be with the Bakeneko-gumi, that's why she was mentioned. Does that help?

Kuro: MERRY CHRISTMAS, KURO-SAAAN!

It's okay. At least you read and reviewed!

Yup! It's fun! And I don't even have a religion!

19,510 or so, haha! And I love you too! *hugs*

I still feel honored, okay? It's exactly because you guys like me! Thank you so muuuuch!

Okay...

'Kay!

Ahaha, thank you!

Hm, fan-service? Maybe... but I didn't lose it. I like to use fan-service. You guys like it too, right? *smirk*

They do good things once in a while. When he's not trying to *cough*bang*cough* her, they have their normal relationship of servant and master.

They are sort of constantly showing each other they care for them, though.

What is not fair again? And what is not romantic?

The kiss is bothering you? Why?

I'm glad you're one of the people that liked Kana's development! I also pity manga Kana a lot. I pity anime's first season Kana even more.

Lolwut? What children are you talking about?

What pairing came upside down? RikuTsura?

Man I really do make a lot of questions... sorry about that.

Yeah, Mamiru is such a bishounen.

Who is amazing? MamiYura? I know, right?

Lol, no need to beg. I shall make more moments for my OTPs! And I'm glad you love them all!

"JiNa"? That's an interesting name, lol, but it's actually "ShimaKana". Weird, huh? And I shall convince you in the future! Ohohoho, you may not believe this, but I have big plans for them!

I'll try to have an ItaRei moment.

Is that so? How funny. Maybe I should make them arranged weds, then. It may actually work!

Kyah! Thank you! *cries*

Lol, okay then.

OMG... have you tried to ask anyone who knows about informatics to help you? It may be a serious problem with your e-mail or something worse. And you don't need an account to read my other stories. Just go to my profile and click on them. I'm seriously thinking about deleting them, though. I'm not into Soul Eater as much anymore.

Thanks again!

I don't get the last part (evil people), but the way you put it, it seems there's no place that can be worse than school for you... makes me think I'm very lucky for being where I am now.

Oh... I see your mother is very strict. It was a bad thing to do, but I wouldn't say it's a serious violation. Oh, well. Everyone has their way to see things. Better not make your mommy angry, ne~? Be good~! Only read when you can~! Besides, I don't want to be a problem for you. *cries more*

You're welcome!

Whoa, so many contests! They seem fun, though. But, even though I'm really curious, I won't ask about them any further. It'll make you waste your time explaining.

I took my time! Still, was this update soon enough?

It's okay!

But what sentence? *cries from confusion*

As always, big response for a big review. Haha, I love ya!

Firstaidekateee: Kate-chan (if it's okay to call you that)!

Oh, it's okay. I'm just glad you actually have an account. I hope you solve that problem, though.

Hahaha, thank you very much!

Lol, then try to imagine this: really red cheeks, sweat-drops, and a lot of blood coming out of his nose.

Like I said last chapter, Tsurara is not "hot"... yet.

Y-You cried? Was it from laughing?

I'm a girl, lol. And thank you again!

Yes, yes, peasants. Hail to the Queen! Haha, just kidding. But you must really like to flatter me, huh~?

Aw, Kana-chan is not a bitch~! And I'm glad you're one of the people that can stand her in this story!

Hahaha, don't worry, you were not the only one who had these... thoughts.

It really was amazing!

"Smut"? I-I-I can't! I'm not ready for that yet... but if I need help with future moments, I may seek your help! Thank you once again!

I LOVE YOU, TOO~! *hugs*

Miechan-ish: eeeh, what? XD

Thank you!

Yes, definitely!

I think you were the 200th reviewer! This may mean nothing to you, but, congrats~! And thanks a lot!

Well, I hope I have replied to all of you, and thank you for reading! Please, review~!


	9. Verity

Hey, guys! Your VERY LATE lame writer will be opening this chapter with another previous warning and kindly asks you to read it all, just like the last one.

This here will be another long chapter with a depressive-yet-determined Kana, who will receive more character development. But, unlike the last chapter and the one before that, this one will be made for giving a big push to both her and Tsurara together instead of separately. However, most of it will be on Kana's POV, therefore, I'm warning yet again that you can jump those parts in case you find them boring, since they are not that essential. I'm surprised with the amount of people that had decided to read Kana's big-push chapter even with the warning, though. And I'm even more surprised with the amount of people that reviewed to me saying that they were starting to like/respect/understand Kana's character and situation in this story and preferred this Kana over the original one. But since that doesn't apply to everyone, I'm placing this warning again for those who don't like to read Kana's monologues: you can find KuroNatsu by the middle of this chapter, and though the majority of it is full of RikuTsura implications, the pairing only actually has a moment at the last part again.

Okay, now that you've been properly warned, on with the chapter!

~o0o~

Nature surely was something impressive.

The warm day that had started out with a brightly sunny morning had gradually become unpredictably dark and unsteady as noontime approached. The gathered clouds soon broke into a mixture of violent wind, deafening roars and raging showering. Mercilessly, Toukyou was immersed in a wrathful downpour that didn't show any signs of stopping anytime soon, despite having begun with nothing but innocent drizzling. Yet thankfully, the three young nobles that had been invited to spend some time in the Nura main house that day had been able to arrive safely, before the heavy rain had crashed down. And, although the way back would be a completely different story, the last thing the heirs wanted at the moment was to be as impolite and anti-climactic as to stick with the thought of returning home when they had barely arrived.

Welcomed as warmly as they had been the evening before, the three guests were led by their hosts to the Nura doujou, which was conveniently annexed to the mansion, so that there would be no need to worry about rainy days like those. While the invited trio and the Ienaga heiress made themselves at home and familiarized with the spacious room, the raven-haired head aide made her entrance to welcome them herself, but left as quickly as she had come to fetch them some snacks. Bowing a little as she closed the large double shouji of the doujou, she missed the sad look on the face of the spiky-haired blond heir as he watched her turn her back to him. A little desolated, he was only brought back by the characteristic laugher of one of his oldest friends – one that was impossible to mistake as it echoed through one's head.

"Wonderful~! This place is just wonderful, Nura-kun!" Kiyotsugu enthusiastically opened his arms at the empty space with shining eyes, not minding the high volume of his voice, "Ah~! It's so big! And it has this nice air!"

"'Air'?" Rikuo asked with a drop of sweat on his cheek and sore ears, wondering if his friend was using a figurative speech, since there was no air circulating in the room.

"Yes~! This obscure atmosphere~! It almost feels like a Youkai household~!" the long-haired young man answered rather cheerfully, his honesty dangerously ambiguous.

"Uh... I'm glad you liked it this much... I think." the Wakagashira rubbed the back of his neck, aware that his old companion's words were meant as a compliment, – considering it they were coming from a supernatural fanatic such as him – but still feeling awkward about his choice of words. However, it was not like he could deny that, on that day in particular, the doujou really did have an unusual gloomy aspect. That was probably due to the rain, since thanks to that, the sunlight coming from the screen of the protected windows wasn't quite enough to illuminate the whole place. In contrast, the dim light made the many sorts of weaponry that were carefully kept in the doujou quite outstanding, giving the shining blades a more dangerous look. In short, the doujou was lacking its usual warm feeling, but it somewhat felt more exciting that way.

"Kiyotsugu-kun... is in high spirits today..." Jirou whispered to no one in particular with a tomboyish smile, watching his friend wander around aimlessly while displaying his exaggerated awe and contemplating the fact said eccentric young man would probably never change.

"'Today too', right?" upon being able to hear him, the future Nura wife giggled discreetly.

"Y-Yes!" suddenly stiff, the blond stammered. "T-T-T-That's right, I-Ienaga-san!"

Her smile vanishing for a second, Kana blinked a few times at his rather odd reply, quirking an eyebrow as she asked, "Shima-kun, are you okay...?"

"I am! T-There's nothing for you to worry about, Ienaga-san!" lame and nervously, the soccer addict lied in an almost defensive manner.

It was needless to say the chocolate-haired young woman's suspicions towards him had only been raised by his attempts, but minding her own business, she opted for not going further into the subject. Still, very subtly, she let him know that, as a hostess and a friend, she could try to be of help if he needed it as she gently smiled, "If you say so... but if there's anything making you uneasy, please let me know."

"O-Okay..." yet again, Jirou lied with a knot forming in his throat, glad he was finally out of sight of her caring eyes as she turned around. As much as he wasn't fond of lies, even because he was aware of how much of a horrible liar he was, there was no way he could help it in that case.

After all, it was not like he could tell her that **she** was the reason of his unease.

Ever since the little "incident" with Kana in her drunken state, a lot of things seemed to have been unexplainably changing in him, and he was nowhere pleased with that fact. After all, his whole life, he had thought the very essence of his taste for women could only be personified by the image of a young Yamato Nadeshiko, hence his fixation for a certain Nura servant. Yet, for some reason unknown to him, he now found himself strangely attracted by the short-haired English beauty, whom he had never really paid much attention to before.

Invading his life like nothing else, the chocolate-haired arranged bride was literally everywhere. And now that the two of them were that close again, he was able to see in her what he had never thought he even had the ability to, like the shine in her sympathetic eyes or the graciousness of her smile. He observed it all with impressive depth, startled with the fact he had never taken note of such things before, not even in the times when his attention was set on his first love. Before he knew it, everything in the heiress had suddenly started feeling new to him, even though he had known her for quite long, as if he was looking at her for the first time in his life.

But why was that happening, and only now of all times? He couldn't help but struggle over and over to be able to answer that question. And the only answer he deemed as the closest to being right was that he had merely become very intrigued by her after her actions towards him and her words about her fiancé the previous night. Anyone else in his shoes could be reacting the same way. But if that was really so, should it be normal that she seemed to be taking the place of the one he believed to have affections towards? After all, the more Kana occupied his mind, the less space there was for the indigo-eyed Nura aide. While the image of the Ienaga daughter was engraved deeper and deeper within him, the one of the white maiden slowly disappeared, as the more he absorbed one's features and characteristics, the harder it was to remember the other's.

He was insecure.

That was the only feeling he could possibly use to describe his state in all his confusion, and he didn't enjoy any of it. He also wasn't the slightest bits thrilled by the fact there seemed to be no cure for his sudden fanaticism for his friend. And all of that because of an accidental moment that was never supposed to have happened? The more he thought of how incredibly shallow he was, the more frustrated he became with himself, the idea of becoming involved with a to-be-wed woman of his giving him the creepiest of the chills. He was an ingenuous boy, but not to that point. There was no way he was allowing himself to do anything stupid or compromising to that point – if it ever crossed his mind, that is. And, to be able to prevent possible conflicts that could come from his actions towards the half-European lady, since they had been oddly hard to control, he had come to the decision of restraining himself around her. That way, everyone could be in peace until he could calm down his temporary obsession – curse his lack of a better term – with her and his mind was back to being occupied with one person alone.

His precious "Oikawa-san".

"So, Kiyotsugu..." snapped out of his thoughts by a deep masculine voice echoing through, Jirou raised his head abruptly, finally aware of how much he had been spacing out. "I take it the place is good enough..."

"'Good enough'?! The place is perfect, Nura-kun!" the wavy-haired young man blurted out with nearly flailing arms, "You were totally right! Training really can become a much more enjoyable experience amongst friends! Ah~! My poor heart can't take the anxiety anymore! Let's begin, hurry! Hurry~!"

"Then come. I'll show you the stock." with a smirk, Rikuo couldn't help but glance briefly at his arranged wife, the feeling of satisfaction of a fulfilled duty clear in his ruby eyes. And, as he averted them to the blond behind her, he missed her reddening cheeks and the small smile of gratitude that formed on her lips.

Her future husband having invited the group for a friendly practice without her consent didn't seem so bad anymore, Kana concluded. Rather, she was now very glad he had done such thing just for the sake of granting her more time with her oh-so-missed old companions, but was nevertheless still worried about his condition. Despite having been reassured by him himself he wouldn't hurt himself any more, for his friends were most likely nowhere near his level of sword skill, she couldn't help but consider every possibility of that perfect day being ruined in a second, much like the previous ones that she had intended to be just as flawless. In any case, she decided, she would meddle and stop him if necessary.

"You're coming too, right, Shima?" Rikuo asked, looking behind his shoulder.

Stiffening, Jirou walked forward rather clumsily, almost chocking with air as he passed by the Nura bride and was unintentionally able to catch her scent, "Y-Yes!"

"What about you, Yura?"

"Like I said...!" with a glare, the long-haired brunette was about to raise her voice, until she seemed to have realized something, – most likely the bad sonority of the room – and dropped it down before throwing her eyes elsewhere, away from the burgundy stare in her direction. "Just stop treating me so familiarly, Youkai!"

"Alright, alright." waving carefreely, Rikuo dismissed her. "I was just asking if you'd want to join us since you do have enough experience. You are the Keikain's **Nijuuhachidaime** after all, right?"

"Guh...?!" fidgeting slightly, Yura was caught by surprise by the purposeful emphasis on the white-haired one's words, and couldn't help but wonder how he could be aware of something only her family was supposed to. "H-How did you...?"

"'Nijuuha'...?" Kana muttered her betrothed's last words to herself until the realization hit her. With slightly widened eyes, she immediately turned around to face her blushing friend, "Eh?! Yura-chan, you...?"

"Ah, I had heard about that in my household, too! So it's really true~!" Kiyotsugu grinned with a hand under his chin. "Congratulations, Keikain-kun!"

"Uooh~! Amazing, Keikain-san~!" literally sparkling in admiration, Jirou clapped his hands together, as if closing a non-existent book.

"News spread around pretty quickly, huh?" with an arched silver brow, Rikuo could only watch Yura's embarrassment in amusement. "By the way, you'll be officially receiving your title a little bit after me, won't you?"

"T-That doesn't concern you." she spat, still looking elsewhere, as if anything seemed better than facing the Wakagashira's penetrating gaze and teasing smirk. Yet after remembering her manners, she regretted her actions and could only blush more at her blunt impoliteness, "But yes... for all you just said. S-So?"

"Are you in?"

"Don't sputter nonsense, Youkai." with a light cough, Yura was able to regain her composure. "I'm only here because Ienaga-san requested. Without me, she'd be pretty lonely here."

"I see... though just the three of us would be pretty off-turning." Rikuo sighed, forgetting about the condition of his body for a second.

"I agree, Nura-kun." Kiyotsugu nodded, his eyes closed and his arms crossed. "I believe the three of us could make a thrilling practice, but if there could be more people, my humble heart would be filled with happiness~!"

"Then how about letting us join?" another party asked, their rough yet young voice echoing through the place.

Turning around at the source of the question, the young nobles, with the exception of Rikuo, couldn't help but wonder who was the one standing by the slightly open double shouji doors of the doujou with his arms folded across his muscular chest and an unreadable expression. But by the red and black bandana on his head, Kana was able to recognize him as one of the companions of one of the many guests she had been introduced to earlier that morning. If she remembered it clearly, Rikuo had referred to him as...

"Ah!" she gasped inaudibly, a smile reaching her lips. "Ita... ku-san..." she spoke out loud, a little hesitantly, suddenly feeling a little silly for having drawn the attention of the people in the room to herself – especially of the brunet by the door, who had directed his penetrating brown stare at her, "right...?"

With a mute nod of confirmation, the spiky-haired one didn't seem the slightest bits impressed with the fact she had been able to recall who he was, despite the fact their previous meeting had been quite brief. That alone was enough to make Kana inwardly curse herself for ever thinking of it as a big deal, the brunet's still eyes not making things easier. Since he had been looking exactly the same when they had first met by the gates of the mansion, she assumed that was his usual expression, but not even that conclusion or the fact she had been able to face worse looks could make her feel comfortable about it in any way. Truth be told, she was simply not the type of person that could easily deal with such things. However, she was willing to at least pretend she was, since that would be part of her life as a yakuza leader's wife.

"You're not alone, are you?" Rikuo asked, the question causing a smile to replace the previous serious expression of the young man by the doors.

As if waiting for the opportunity, Itaku merely slid his right foot onto the floor, making the shouji door beside him back up and reveal the group that was behind it. Said group was also recognized by the current Nura bride, by the characteristics of each of its members that she had deemed to be more outstanding. The blond twins, the blunt little girl and the green-haired and the ape-faced older men – all of them were members of the Oushuu Toono Ikka, standing by the entrance with identical expressions and carrying what seemed to be sheathed weapons.

"What are you guys doing here?" the Wakagashira's smirked at the sight before him.

"It's not like there's much for us to do right now." the only blonde female in the room answered, "It's either hanging around the city, helping with the housework, or... training."

"And, naturally, as people of the training grounds of Toono... I guess our choice would be pretty obvious." her brother added. "Reira is helping with the housework, though."

"I see." As if expecting their answers, Rikuo directed the decision to his childhood companions, "Maa, since the doujou was reserved for you guys today, what do you think?"

"I-I-I'm not sure I–" Jirou was the first to speak, very lowly and tripping onto his words as his chin trembled frantically, before being interrupted by his wavy-haired friend.

"PERFECT!"

"Kiyotsugu-kun?!" wide-eyed, the soccer addict found himself sweating a little, despite the coldness provided by the rain outside.

"Now our need for more people will be supplied!" with a quick movement, Kiyotsugu opened his once crossed arms, as if to show how welcome he wanted the group standing outside to feel. "You're right on time, Nura-kun's underlings!"

"Eh? 'Underlings'...?" the older man with paintings on his face, which Kana was able to remember as "Dohiko", raised a brow at the last word.

"Ou...? That's what you've been telling them about us, Rikuo?" Itaku asked, his smile growing and his eyes narrowing the slightest bits, the fact he treated the Sandaime so informally not going unnoticed by the young heirs and heiresses.

"Rather, he has never told us anything about you at all." Yura answered before the Nura head could, saving him from embarrassing himself without even knowing.

"Is that so...?" the green-haired, golden-eyed man chuckled. "Hm, well... I guess we can't really blame him for that. Our first meeting with him was quite a bit–"

"**These guys**" Rikuo cut him off a little too loudly, a hardly apparent hint of red on his cheeks as some not-very-far-away memories awakened within him.

His first time in Toono hadn't been all that enjoyable for many reasons. About two years before, after having his first ugly fight with his grandfather, both of them had finally come to understand how he was yet too weak to be a leader, and so he had been sent there for training without his **own** consent. And, as someone already experienced with the way of Toono, – given it he had founded his Kumi there – Nurarihyon had taken the right measures, albeit rather forceful ones, as he knocked his grandson unconscious during their argument and requested some old friends to take advantage of the boy's lack of resistance. The next thing he had known, Rikuo was lying on the hidden training grounds, disoriented and in pain, muttering his aide's name to himself as he woke up.

It was needless to say finding a pair of strangers dressed as Namahage instead was the least he had been expecting.

No one had waited for him to recover – as soon as he was on his feet, thousands of chores had been given to him, as well as the people from there would sometimes pick sword fights with him, mostly just for fun. With no experience whatsoever in housework and not used to facing random matches, he had had a very hard time in the first days, and that had made of him the Toono folk's favorite target for pranks during his whole stay. And, considering he was quite the prankster himself when little, the situation couldn't be more ironic.

But, surprisingly, it had been in that place's messy way he was able to make allies.

He had struggled quite a lot in the little time he had spent there, and had even tried to run away at some point, upon remembering Tsurara's cheerful smile as he miserably failed in washing clothes. Still, at the end of the day, everything had been worth it. Despite all the hardships, he had been able to earn many unforgettable experiences while becoming much stronger.

And, obviously, he would only let others know about the last part.

Once he had everyone's attention to him, he continued, allowing himself to make the introductions as a way to escape from what could be coming in his direction, "are part of an independent group from Toono. They are with us, but not as my underlings. Rather, they are just the same as you people. My..." He paused for a second, a small smile forming on his lips, "friends."

In a spur of the moment, the foreign group, except for Itaku, bowed their heads a little to the noble youngsters. The gentle gesture only took a matter of seconds to be returned. And, soon enough, the silence of the room was broken by the ever-so-obnoxious Kiyotsugu, with his enthusiasm seeming to have been burst even more, "Then that's even better! Come! You are more than welcome here! Nura-kun's friends shall be our friends as well!"

"Hehe~! We'll be humbly intruding then~!" the little brunette with a bun on top of her head, whom Kana couldn't quite remember the name, giggled slightly. Her innocent laughter, however, was not enough to erase from the heiress's mind the recent and shocking witnessing of her wicked tongue and blunt attitude.

"W-W-Wait, a minute..." Jirou asked, pointing at the sheathed sword being carried by the older blond passing by him, his face growing a little bluish, "Y-You guys... are carrying real weaponry, aren't you? Don't t-tell me... you'll be training with those?!"

"Hm?" the taller man looked down at the Katana in his hands, seeming to find nothing unusual with it. Rather nonchalantly, he asked, "Yeah, why?"

"It's not like we actually **can** use wooden weapons, anyways." bearing a seemingly purposefully dark look, Itaku brought both of his hands to his back, swiftly pulling a Kusari-gama from the holder he carried around with him, the perfectly tuned blades causing Jirou to start shaking slightly. "We would end up destroying all of them if we tried."

"Oho~?! So you are that strong? Wonderful~! That's just wonderful~!" Kiyotsugu mused loudly with a broad grin, Itaku's actions and words seeming to have the opposing effect on him. "But, if that's the case, shouldn't we use real weapons too, Nura-kun!?"

"Hm? You sure?" Rikuo asked indifferently, not aware that the frightened Jirou behind him wished to protest, since said boy seemed to be unable to use his own voice.

"Why, how else would we be able to practice together with them?" Kiyotsugu deadpanned for a second, asking the obvious. "Besides, Shima-kun and I are perfectly able to wield real blades by now! I'm sure we can keep up with them if we try!"

"If you say so..."

As soon as the white-haired one's rather carefree sentence was caught in her ears, Kana stopped in the middle of her way to the back of the doujou, the place she and Yura had chosen to watch the practice while making each other company. With a hint of worry, she couldn't help but turn around to take a look at the scene behind her, already fearing the worst.

If the Toono people were really as strong as they seemed, Rikuo would stand no chance against them in his state, and so his façade would probably be over right then and there. That would mean he would either have to find an excuse to escape from them or tell them the truth about his condition so that they would take easy on him. Afraid of the humiliation of being labeled as the one at fault for his injuries by even more people than she was already being, and knowing how prideful her fiancé was, the heiress wished firmly that he neither would find himself choosing one of those two options nor he would go for a third one – to overestimate himself, leading another "perfect" day to a painful, early end.

Thankfully enough, the odds soon turned out to be in her favor again as Yura allowed herself to meddle a little, "I think... Shima-kun is not feeling quite comfortable with that idea. Since you're the host here, Nura-kun, why don't you stick to assisting him with the wooden weapons?"

"Eh?" Kiyotsugu stopped in mid-way to the storage room, flipping some strands of his long black hair. "But Shima-kun, you said you do so fine in your daily practice... besides, you and Nura-kun would end up being excluded from the training like this!"

"Not really. It's not like everyone is gonna fight everyone. We don't have space for that sort of practice or money to fix all it could break if we decided to do it either way." Rikuo crossed his arms with a light laugh, seeming to have recalled more old memories. "So we'll be making couples or trios."

"Hm, you do have a point... and if Shima-kun is not up to it, there's no reason to force him..." Kiyotsugu scratched his chin, "but what about you, Nura-kun?"

"I don't really mind wielding a Bokken." was the plain answer Rikuo smartly chose to give, instead of showing how disappointing it could be to only be able to have Jirou as his training partner. He, however, was aware from the start that he would be limited to taking it easy with his body the way it was, so it didn't take long for him to conform himself with the situation.

"Yeah. Real or fake, the weapon doesn't matter, as long as it can be used to its max!" the muscular blond twin smiled. "Rikuo knows that better than anyone, right?"

The ruby-eyed young man could only glare at the question, avoiding answering it by taking his still trembling friend to the stock of wooden and sample weapons. He, however, was not able to avoid remembering yet again another moment of his first time in Toono, in which he was never given a real weapon. Instead, all he had to use was a simple wooden stick he had found in the forest surrounding the the village, which he had named "Takimaru". Sweat-dropping at the many challenges he had had to face together with that one rotting piece of tree, Rikuo couldn't help but inwardly swear as he walked away from his laughing Toono friends. Nevertheless, he was glad the seemingly oblivious young nobles in the room weren't showing signs to have understood the comment or what could be so funny at all.

Meanwhile, finally seated, Kana proceeded to smoothen her yukata while giving her nearby companion a warm smile, "Yura-chan."

"Yes?"

"Thank you." she said softly, without really thinking.

"Eh? For what?"

"Ah...!" her eyes widening slightly, Kana remembered the Keikain heiress wasn't aware of the many injuries the Wakagashira had received some nights before. And, without knowing what to say, she tried to come up with an excuse for what she had just said, but her friend spoke before she could.

"Is it because I helped Nura-kun?"

"Huh...? Wh...? Y-You knew...?!" alarmed, the chocolate-haired young woman could no longer bear her smile, as it was replaced by clear apprehension. If Yura was aware of what she had been thanked for, she had certainly already found out about Rikuo's healing wounds. And if so, how could she have done it? Could someone have told her? If that was so, depending on who it had been, it could mean the secret she had wanted to keep from the rest of society had already leaked.

"Ienaga-san... did you know that spatial vision is an essential requirement for a warrior?"

"E-Eh?" Kana sweat-dropped in confusion, almost thinking her question was being avoided, until she remembered Yura, much like Rikuo, had been merely a Touchu candidate in training not so long ago. Right now that she was about to be officially declared the next Keikain leader, she could perfectly be considered a warrior, just like Rikuo himself had been before the country found peace. With that in mind, Kana was finally able to answer, though quite hesitantly, "N-No, I didn't..."

"Hm, I thought as much..."

"Say, Yura-chan... w-what gave Rikuo-kun away? Do you think that Shima-kun or Kiyotsugu-kun may have noticed? And what about the Toono Ikka?" non-stop, Kana bombarded her friend with questions while leaning closer to her, before the look she received made her realize what she was doing. "Ah... I-I'm sorry..."

"N-No, it's okay..." Yura sputtered, slightly amazed with how tense the hazel-eyed one had become. "Well... what I think that gave Nura-kun away was his walking. I also think I felt his abdominal injuries when I elbowed him the other night. I'm sorry, if I had known about it, I wouldn't have..."

"Oh, no, no." with a wave, Kana was able to find the will to smile reassuringly again. "He's alright."

"Is that so?" the other brunette sighed in relief. "As for Shima-kun and Kiyotsugu-kun... I don't think their observation skills are very good yet. They probably haven't noticed it. But, those Toono fellows... they are a different story. I think..." she paused for a moment, her face growing a little melancholic, "they are trying to mask it, so that Nura-kun won't feel bad for not being able to train with them."

"R... Really...?" Kana stammered, a knot forming in her throat.

"Ienaga-san..." Yura continued lowly, as if trying to make a more careful approach, "That wound in his torso... is not the only one Nura-kun has, is it?"

"Eh? N-No... it isn't." the short-haired girl answered uneasily, not liking where the conversation was going as her heart started to race a bit faster than it should.

"You don't need to answer this, but... if I may ask..." it was Yura's turn to discreetly lean closer, looking straight into Kana's fearful hazel orbs, "do Nura-kun's wounds... have anything to do with y–"

"Excuse me~! Sorry for making you wait~!" All the heads in the room turned around at another incoming person by the entrance of the doujou – no one other than the mansion's top aide, holding a tray with two cups of kukicha and sweet treats for the two seated ladies, "Ah, everyone...!"

"Ah! Yuki Onna, it's been a while!" the first to greet was the busty Toono woman, giving a two-finger salute with a rather tomboyish grin. "You joining us~?"

"What are you saying, Awashima? I'm on duty right now!" she said with a small frown while crossing the room, before kneeling in front of the two young women and serving them their respective shares with a smile. "Here you go~"

"Ah, t-thank you." Kana stuttered, already mentally planning how to change the subject of her conversation with Yura as soon as she tried to retake it. Her debt had risen as she had been helped by the azure-eyed young servant one more time that day, even though said servant was unaware of it that time.

"Hey, Yuki Onna." a childish voice called from behind.

In response, Tsurara forced a smile as she turned around, pretending not to care about the way people were referring to her, "W-What is it, Yukari?"

"Are those... honey lemons?"

"Oh, why..." she followed the direction where the younger one was pointing at with her eyes until she reached the sweets she had just served together with the cha. "Yes. I've made those with Reira-san earlier. There's more in the kitchen, if you want some."

Immediately, a cheeky smile formed on the little girl's lips, "Lucky~!"

"Eh, you're already leaving, Yukari?" one of her comrades asked. "We haven't even done anything yet!"

"Sorry, guys~" she dismissively said while giving a goodbye wave, despite her expression clearly showing she wasn't sorry at all. "Maybe another time~"

Watching Yukari hurrying to join hands with the older raven-haired female and close the shouji doors behind her, Kana couldn't **not** notice the change of attitude of the Toono Ikka's youngest member. Whether she was actually smitten of Tsurara for some reason or was just treating her nicely so that she could get her hands on the rather mouth-watering sweets, the arranged wife couldn't tell. But the sudden softening of the little one's talking and the obvious glee she displayed as she walked on the tip of her toes to the exit sure was surprising. That had automatically made Kana start wondering if the raven-haired maiden was good with children, but her thoughts were soon interrupted by an irritatingly loud voice, which she was still trying to re-familiarize with.

"Well, then," Kiyotsugu gracefully unleashed the Katana he had chosen to practice with, "shall we get started?!"

~o0o~

From his own experience in life, Kurotabou had used to be the sort of man that strongly believed people would always learn with their mistakes. Unfortunately, he now acknowledged his need to quit following said belief, for he had become an exception of it himself. After all, from the events of the past days, no matter how many times he made wrong decisions and how many embarrassing situations they led him to, it seemed he was doomed to keep on with such routine as long as there was a certain maid living under the same roof as him.

It had taken him a while, but he had been able to realize he was never able to resist touching her. It had taken him a little more to realize the reason why as well. And it had also taken him even more to realize what he needed to do to settle things up. On the other hand, it had not taken him all that long to find courage to do so, and that was what he was about to do that day.

Until he found himself committing that very mistake once again.

They were supposed to meet, he was supposed to tell her everything he had been hoping to, and she was supposed to give him an answer – as simple as it could seem, it was already a complicated enough task. And all he did was to make it even worse when, in his never-ending foolishness, he allowed himself to extend his hand to feel the warmth of her sleeping face. On one knee, away from anyone's eyes, he gently caressed raven-haired maid, who was sound asleep in the place the two had agreed to meet at earlier that morning. Most likely, she had succumbed to the tire of a long morning of work and let it take her over as she waited for him, given the position she was in – seated, with one of her sides leaning against the shouji doors that led to the garden and her arms folded, sandwiching them between her head and her knees.

It had been a while since he had touched anything that smooth, the feeling of her skin against his calming him as it contrasted with his calloused fingers. In a matter of seconds, all of his worries, nervousness and anxiety were gone as his mind seemed to have gone blank for a moment, only focusing on the girl next to him as a smile formed on his lips.

Ironically, it had also been in a matter of seconds that the tables flipped.

Back to his senses and pulling himself together, all he could do was curse himself as every single negative emotion that had been following him the way there came back with full force. Seeing where things were going, he immediately withdrew with the promise not to forgive himself if he made everything go wrong yet again.

But he was too late.

"Ku... Kurotabou-san...?!" the Souhei nearly choked with air upon hearing the girl whispering his name to herself and watching her awake from her sound slumber with her feline eyes wide open. For a moment, he thanked the fact it was raining so heavily, for the darkness provided by the wooden protectors of the shouji doors was probably covering his deep blush. On the other hand, it was also a reminder of how suspicious his actions towards the maid seemed, as it always happened. The only difference of that situation in particular and the others was that he was completely cornered. That time, she wasn't going unconscious. That time, no one was around to meddle. That time, she was in condition for not letting him get away if he tried.

That time, he was on his own.

"W... What just...?" and it was there – the question he had feared she was going to ask was barely making its way past her dry throat.

In an act of despair, he started projecting an answer, but his thoughts were too disorganized for giving a proper one due to being caught defenseless, causing him to blabber instead of actually talk. And, while he mentally cursed how pathetic he was being and the fact he couldn't suddenly stop from where he had started, the excuses given by him ended up coming out as a nonsense mess. It was quite frustrating and self-disappointing to him how weak and cowardly he was being, as he was definitely not willing to believe the simple act of expressing himself could be beyond him.

To his surprise, the way he was making a fool of himself seemed to have had the opposing effect on the young maid.

Soon after he had started his senseless sputtering, the confusion and startle began fading from her face, as well as her arms, which were defensively positioned up her chest, slowly went down and her posture became visibly more relaxed. Listening to him carefully and adjusting herself into a proper sitting position, her facial expression had also started changing, and at some point, it could be likened to a mother listening to her small child as a warm smile approached her lips. Eventually, she even started giggling a little, and that was the sign he needed as confirmation for a conclusion he had already mentally taken.

That was going nowhere.

Together with that, a realization hit him. Defeating enemy Kumi members, wielding high-level weaponry, surpassing physical limits – looking back to the past, those accomplishments had always been considerably easy for him in comparison with the simple act of telling a woman how he felt, for he would never hesitate or bow before his fears in those situations. But when doing all of that, he was mostly not alone. As a proud member of the Toriyama Seiken Zuga Hyakki Yakou, he would stick to his comrades and, together, they would follow their leader through the path to the glory they had reached not long before.

Now that he stopped to think about it, aside from taking care of weaklings, he had never really achieved any victories by himself. With that in mind, he could take another conclusion: it was a good thing he was on his own. After all, that was the only way he would overcome everything that had been troubling him. And, following said conclusion, he was able to take notice of something else.

His voice started dying as he sighed, his failed attempts to explain himself being left aside as the heat in his cheeks seemed to have lessened a little. "Haa... I'm just... no good with words, am I?" he asked no one in particular in low voice, which the young woman in front of him couldn't hear, due to the sound of rain.

"S-Sorry?" she asked with a hand over her earlobe, but automatically tried to back away when he raised both hands in her direction, though she wasn't able to escape the grip he placed on her tiny arms.

"Natsumi-san," he softly pleaded, although he was aware he had no right to, his blood flushing up to his face yet again, "please forgive me for this."

One more chance – that was all he needed. Regardless of everything that had happened between them the past days and what he was **still** going to make her go through because of his selfishness, just one more time, he would appeal to the most tragic of the moves, so that he would be able to mark his first actually memorable solo achievement.

Love.

Everything was already a little familiar by the time he leaned into her. Catching the girl by surprise in his impulse when crashing his lips against hers could become a habit, if it depended on him. At least as long as he always had his eyes just as tightly closed, so that he wouldn't see her wide-open ones staring back in shock. And, as she also seemed to be reacting the exact same way as last time he had done such thing, he assumed she would stay motionless during the whole process until she either pushed him away or kissed him back.

He unconditionally feared which option she would pick.

Nevertheless, he also took her lack of resistance as a sign he could loosen his grip on her arms, and so he did. With his hands letting go of her for a moment, he didn't dare to break their connection as he started to move on his own. Before he himself was aware of it, he was already slowly trying to motivate her to go on with his rhythm. And as he slid one hand around her thin back and the other on her warming cheeks, he could have sworn his heart had stopped for a second.

She was responding.

Just as inexperienced as him, she uncertain and hesitantly tried her best to follow his lead, with her eyes also tightly shut not to face his most likely utterly surprised ones. Much to her dismay, he had stopped for a second, as if trying to process the reality before him, before continuing from where he had left as soon as she confirmed her decision by gripping his black yukata tightly with both of her shaking hands.

The temperature around them soon rose due to the closure of their extremely flushed faces and both were so incredibly nervous and anxious they were trembling from head to toes and with countless butterflies in their stomachs. But still, the two of them were filled with unexplainable happiness as they were able to resonate quite well with each other. And that was what provided them enough security to relax their eyelids, letting everything flow more naturally.

With his hand traveling from her cheek to the back of her neck, Kurotabou dared to pull her in even more and deepening the kiss, making it more possible for both to catch each other's tastes. While he could feel his chest warm up at the sweetness that invaded his mouth, he wondered if she would be able to bear the bitterness of many years of remorse of the lives he had taken or the sins he had committed – many wrongs of his that, one day, he would have to reveal to her. To his relief, just when he was considering the possibility of spearing her of the despicable flavor of his worthlessness, she seemed to welcome him well as they mixed together with a very pleasing result. Sadly, said result had not lasted as long as he would have wanted to, as they were forced to break apart from lack of air.

But even though the moment was over, its meaning was not.

It didn't take long at all for the two to catch their breaths, finding out their fatigue was actually from their nervousness and anxiety and not from the kiss itself, upon realizing their connection had not even lasted an entire minute. And, while the only sounds that could be heard was the one of raindrops violently hitting the wooden doors outside, all the two could do was fixatedly stare into each other's eyes, still holding onto one another.

Now knowing his blush was most likely perfectly visible, despite how the place was so dimly lit, Kurotabou was still able to muster some courage to move his hand from the girl's neck back to her burning cheek, caressing it gently. In that meantime, he mentally concluded that it could be the right time. All he needed to both justify himself and to reach his goal were three words, and while he mentally debated with himself the best way to say it, his chin started trembling, as if his mouth was warning him it was about to move on its own again, which would probably ruin everything. But he found no need to worry about it any more as soon as the younger one unexpectedly slammed herself into him. As she nuzzled her bright red face into his broad chest, her hands now clutching his yukata from the back, she was able to transmit to him a message.

Words weren't needed.

Blinking a few times before smiling softly, the Souhei wrapped both arms around the maid as well, letting his head rest on top of hers as she didn't seem to mind his long raven hair falling over. Able to perceive how his and her accelerated heartbeats were synchronized, for the first time in his life, Kurotabou could appreciate the feeling that nothing was missing, as if his life was complete. And, in fact, it was true – since the country was in the process of fast development and in times of peace, his services most likely wouldn't be as needed as before. All he had yet needed to do was to find a mate, but it seemed that wish had just been granted as well. And while he savored every bit of that, he remembered that he had not yet let the girl tell him what she had wanted to.

But he would soon find out that didn't matter.

~o0o~

Staying still had never been so difficult for the Ienaga family's only heiress.

As proper etiquette demanded, she had tried her best to keep her elegant posture intact, despite the time she had spend seated at the back of the Nura mansion's doujou. But no matter how much she policed herself to stay as lady-like as possible, her noble composure would always be ruined as she constantly caught herself gawking widely, staring fixatedly or fidgeting in anticipation during her stay there. Manners-wise, her behavior would have been condemned, hence her being very thankful no one seemed to have paid attention to her jumpiness. But considering the scene before her, her reactions were understandable.

The loud clashing of blades, the strong blows, the swift and flexible movements – it was all simply astonishing.

Kana had always been well-aware the Nura-gumi was very powerful, and had spent quite some time picturing in her mind the many hardships it had gone through on its way to splendor. But experiencing the real thing by herself was something completely different. She could now see how the most influent Kumi of Japan was actually far beyond her imagination, even because what she was witnessing at the moment was mere training. If she was already impressed with the clansmen's various breath-taking techniques when they were not being totally serious, she would probably never be able to understand their magnificence when overcoming the huge odds they had to face along the Kumi's mere three generations.

All of that made her wish she had been able to be there during said time, despite its many dangers.

Still, the fact the present members weren't at their fullest didn't make the scene less exciting in any way – and Kana was sure she wasn't the only one to think so. Within the few hours that had passed, she had been carefully paying attention to how the number of people in the doujou was increasing. Quite a lot of men and women, who had been attracted by the noise and hectic activity of the place, had decided to join the practice. A few others would stop by to simply contemplate it.

Not even the collected Keikain heiress could resist the temptation of allowing herself into the mesmerizing mess the room was becoming, apologizing to her friend for leaving her by herself. Kana, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind her absence as she encouraged her to go, since other ladies had been gathering near the place where she was sitting to watch the awesome spectacle. And, thanks to the kind company of two Bakeneko-gumi young women, Usami Yura and Shirohebi Rinko, her loneliness didn't last at all.

Her guilt, however, was another story.

While her eyes kept traveling through the mass of people the doujou was becoming, eventually, the heiress would be able to spot the only two young men who couldn't fully participate of the marvelous reunion. Limited to crossing fake blades with someone far below his level of skill, the figure current Nura heir would sometimes show up in the midst of the moving crowd at the center of the room. Sometimes, he would display a certain hint of amusement when laughing at the poor boy that tried to catch up to him, encouraging him to push himself as he dodged his blows with ease. But mostly, his eyes would be directed somewhere else, contemplating everyone's free and open movements – something that had been temporarily taken away from him in a very painful way.

The sight was highly unpleasant to the heiress, and though she was trying to hide it, she feared she wouldn't be able to take it much longer. That was why it was clearly relieving for her to see that, at some point, everyone's pace started slowing down to an end. It had taken a while, but little by little, more and more people started either exiting or just sitting somewhere, until everyone decided it was enough for the day. Soon, there wasn't a single person standing on the doujou's tatami as everyone settled down, most of them panting heavily.

It was only after that that Kana was able to sense how incredibly high the temperature in the room had become and how the stench of sweat had dominated it completely. Resisting the urge to hold her breath, she wondered how she had managed not to notice it before. Maybe it had been because she herself wasn't sweating – due to the amount of cosmetics she usually wore – and because she had been a little too distracted with everything going on in front of her to pay attention to it. Mentally cursing the fact the widows had to stay shut, the half-British lady tried her best to fight her illness as she continued to breathe almost normally.

As she looked around, she noted how no one, not even Yura, seemed to be bothered with the environment – since they were already used to it – and couldn't help but feel out of place. It seemed that it would take longer than she had thought for her to rid herself of the calm and quiet of the English domain and become used to the rough and loud Yakuza ambient. That simple fact was a stain on her bright hopes to become an exemplary wife, and she was glad she was able to get over it as soon as the double shouji doors of the large doujou were suddenly opened.

"Everyone~!" all the heads in the room turned at the source of the cheerful voice that echoed through the walls, finding a young woman in white standing by the entrance, her arms widely spread, making it obvious she had been the one to slide the doors. "Lunch time!" she announced loudly, which caused everyone to flinch slightly, as if finally perceiving how starving they were.

As the raven-haired young woman stepped aside, she made free way for a little troop of children to enter the place, each one with a tray containing a meal in hands. While making their way to every person in the room, they would hand the food to the first one in sight, then go back to where they had come from to fetch another tray, and take it to someone else. The process was repeated until they were sure all the people in the room were being properly fed. And, amongst them were the household's head bodyguard, her cousin – "Reira-san", if Kana remembered well – and the little Yukari. Holding their own trays, the three walked different ways through the room.

Unlike what the European young woman had thought that would happen, Tsurara passed by her commander without even sparing him a glance, letting a child nearby serve him as he stared at her back constantly. Meanwhile, Yukari made her path to her Toono comrades and took a seat with them on the tatami, giving a quick greeting before parting her hashi in two. Not so far from her, Reira allowed herself to sit beside the Kusari-gama wielder, whom Kana had earlier found out to have earned the title of "Kamaitachi", a name that suited his techniques rather well.

"Here you go." the amber-eyed lady said gently, handing the tray to him with a smile.

"Huh? Th-Thanks..." he responded, rather sheepishly, with a hint of pink on his sweaty cheeks, "but what about you?"

"Oh, I have already..." Reira began, but slowly trailed off as her eyes downed, her face becoming one of disapproval upon seeing his bruised and bleeding hands, "arara, Itaku... Careless as ever, I see." she commented with a sigh, her smile returning in a matter of seconds as she giggled, "Maa, it can't be helped! I will feed you instead~"

"Wh-What are you saying?!" with his blush deepening, Itaku flinched, almost dropping his meal. On the other hand, his companions seemed to find the sight highly entertaining as they joked amongst themselves while laughing together.

The Ienaga daughter, who was observing everything from a distance, distractedly wondered if the pink-haired female and the not-so-cool-anymore brunet could be a couple. Whether they were or not, by the looks of it, they were usual targets of those kinds of suggestive comments. The way things were going, the scene was a little harder to picture with herself and her future husband in their place, but she was still able to do so with a slight blush. Trying to prevent a silly smile from approaching her lips, she mentally decided to make the day something like that would happen with them come soon.

"Have at it, Kana-sama~" her mental image being interrupted by a cheerful voice she knew all too well, Kana looked upwards to find one of her future subordinates offering her a tray while some children served her old friends, who had come to sit nearby after practice.

"A-Ah... thank you, Oikawa-san..." back to reality but with her cheeks still heating up slightly, the chocolate-haired young lady accepted her lunch, noticing the smell of the room was changed from the stink of male juices to the welcoming one of recently-prepared food.

"You're back, Oikawa-san!" Jirou beamed brightly, his cheeky smile almost reaching his ears. "Thank you very much for the meal!"

"Y-You're welcome, Shima-sama..." sweat-dropping a little at the blond's ever so odd behavior towards her, Tsurara offered him a rather awkward smile.

"Heh...?! Th... This is...!" with a gasp from the Keikain heiress, her eyes widening a little as she looked down at her bowl of gohan, the heads of the other three young nobles and the servant turned at her.

"Tamago-kake gohan?" Kana asked, allowing herself to lean closer to her friend to take a look at whatever she could have been so shocked about, finding nothing but raw eggs. With her eyes going through the others' trays as well, she was able to figure it out, "Eh? Only Yura-chan has it..."

"Aaah, that's right!" Kiyotsugu snapped his fingers, "Keikain-kun, you used to love that, didn't you?!"

"I... still do." Yura said slowly, her eyes starting to become filled with joy, "Oikawa-san... You... remembered...?"

"Uwah~!" Jirou's rather thin brows shot up in admiration. "What a memory, Oikawa-san!"

"I-It wasn't my idea!" Tsurara lamely hid her act of kindness with a blush, throwing her eyes elsewhere. "It was Wakana-san's!"

"I see..." the unofficial Keikain leader pretended to play along with her act, but couldn't stop a small smile from approaching her lips, willing to find out the reason of the lie later.

"Tsurara-nee-san!" a childish feminine voice called from behind. The aide turned around on her sitting position, revealing a short-haired girl smiling contently at her. Still seated, she watched as the brunette bowed and reported cheerfully, "We are done!"

Looking around to confirm what she had been told, Tsurara smiled in satisfaction, "Good job, everyone! You're free to disperse!"

"Sharii~! Thank you very much!" with her smile growing, the younger one almost left without greeting the guests and the next Soudaishou's bride. Stopping in mid-step, she bowed to them as well, "Oh, and good afternoon!" Not waiting for a response, she politely yet hurriedly took her leave, together with the other children, "Please excuse us~!"

"Ah! Oryou-chan, don't run~!" Tsurara shouted, her hands forming a circle around her mouth, unable to reach the girl's ears over the noise in the room. Thankfully enough, the so-called "Oryou" was able to make it to the entrance without problems, successfully avoiding hitting people in the slim space available for her to pass through.

"Say, Oikawa-san," Kana began, watching the children's backs as they closed the doujou's doors, "those kids just now... I see them around often, but... it doesn't seem like they belong to anyone here. I mean, there are barely any women in this house too, so..." Upon listening to her own words and seeing the looks everyone was giving her, she backed up a little, her cheeks yet again pink from embarrassment as her hands flew to her mouth, "I-I'm sorry...! I'm being rude..."

"Hm-hm. Not really. It's just natural that what goes in the house is of the housewife's concern." with a light smile, Tsurara dismissively shook her head, making the heiress's blush become one of flattery. The smile, however, only lasted a matter of seconds before she answered the question, "Those children are not really related with anyone in this Kumi. At least not by blood. To tell the truth, most likely... none of their blood relatives are alive by now."

"E-Eh?!" Kana couldn't help but exclaim loudly at the last part, apologizing one more time as she tried to recompose herself.

"You were right, Ojou. Those children were not born in this mansion. They were taken in about a year ago." The underling continued, her melancholic look soon becoming a smile again as she added, "And became my Kumi, together with the Awarashi family."

"'Awarashi'...?" Kiyotsugu repeated to himself, as if trying to place a mental image to the name, gasping and blinking a few times once he was able to. "Eh?! Those guys from yesterday's Harumatsuri?"

"Correct!" Tsurara nodded proudly.

"So you have your own Kumi annexed to the Nura-gumi?" Yura asked for confirmation, receiving a second nod as answer.

"Wah~! That's amazing, Oikawa-san!" Jirou mused, eyes sparkling in admiration.

"I knew there was more than what met the eye to you, Oikawa-kun~! That's simply wonderful~!" Kiyotsugu followed.

"N-Not really..." the blunette sheepishly dismissed the compliments. "all of the higher-ups have their own Kumi, so..."

"What's its name, Oikawa-san?" the Nura bride asked, her interest visibly rising.

"Oh, that... It's the Tsurara-gumi~" the young servant giggled.

"Huh? Why not your family name...?" Yura raised a brow at her, tilting her head a little before it shot up. "Don't tell me... it was you who founded it?"

"More like... I was convinced to...?" the white maiden asked herself with a thoughtful frown and an awkward smile as she rubbed the back of her long hair.

"Uooh?!" Kiyotsugu's eyes widened, "That's even more wonderful!"

"As expected of Oikawa-san!" Jirou added, his hands forming fists and his cheeks reddening.

"T-Then," Kana interrupted, slightly annoyed at the young men's excitement, "those children are from that household?"

"Hm-hm." Tsurara merely shook her head. "They weren't taken in from the Awarashi family, but from the streets."

"Eh?!" her shoulders up, the chocolate-haired girl, together with the rest of her old companions, gestured to the servant, as if asking for her to continue. Seeing the general curiosity of the young nobles and how it was already too late to change the subject, she sighed, mentally looking for a way to explain the long story.

Ever since her master had started being accepted as the Nura-gumi's Sandaime, Shiwasu had become a very busy time of the year to her. As his arrangements had begun taking shape, some members of the upper echelons of the past generation had to retire. But at the same time, other members had been promoted, filling their seats in the Soukai. As one of the Wakagashira's bodyguards, she had obviously been no exception. However, the expectations for the ones that acquired such positions were high, one of them being having followers – in other words, their own Hyakki.

In order to help her acquire her Kumi quicker, Rikuo had taken advantage of the economic problems of the Awarashi family, which had been once entrusted to her mother in the past, to give his recently-proclaimed head aide an opportunity to succeed the legacy. And so, the Nishikigoi-gai, the Awarashi family's area, was entrusted to her. The only problem had been that the Awarashi themselves had yet to accept the idea. But knowing the rest of her comrades who had been promoted as well were doing their best to surpass their leader's expectations, she had accepted the task without any complaints, even though having her own subordinates had always been something beyond her dreams.

During the process, she had struggled, made mistakes, embarrassed herself... but more importantly, she had taken notice of certain things that she hardly would have been able to, had she stayed in her daily routine at the main house instead. Shielded by the Nura domain's tall gates, she had never spent enough time outside to see by herself how Toukyou was still far from becoming the ideal place her master's and the generations before his had dreamt with, but she had been given that opportunity at Nishikigoi. The process was going on slowly, as well as the economy was regaining its stability and public issues being resolved, but there were still many holes to be covered in the country's system.

One of them being the quality of life of the citizens.

Until she had noticed how many people lived in the streets, especially minors, she had never had any idea of how privileged her life in the Nura household was, hence it being during her stay with the Awarashi family that she had decided to help that scenario change faster – and, to her, there was no better way to do so other than taking people out of misery by offering them jobs. With the difficulties she had had dealing with the Awarashi family, the best way for her to gain their trust could be to seek for assistance. It was with that in mind that she had spent all the efforts possible in recruiting help, and, even though she had been able to earn it, it was nowhere near what she had been expecting.

After all, she had only had success with gathering children.

She should have had perceived it at first that the promise of a better future in exchange of handwork would not be very convincing to grown-ups, much less coming from a single girl in an apron. Still, with all the adorably determined faces of the little ones whose hopes she had raised and an important task to complete, she couldn't have afforded to give up there. And so, she yet again had attempted to be accepted by the ones she had been entrusted with, that time, with her small army of young people.

Surprisingly enough, the result had been much better than she had expected.

After so much of her insistence, the Awarashi family had seemed to give up sending her off. As she and her group had succeeded the first errand they had been given rather well, she had been able to receive more and more jobs to accomplish, until she and her little recently-proclaimed subordinates had been able to get along with the stubborn Awarashi members. Still, it had seemed things were going too smoothly to be true, especially in a city that was still in the process of reformulation.

Even though the times were of peace, security problems had still seemed to apply to Toukyou, much like every other city. And, even though those were not nearly as frequent as before, certain areas were simply more dangerous than others – and Nishikigoi-gai was one of them. Just when Tsurara had thought no more obstacles would stand on her way, she found herself having to deal with a vandal group of robbers. Acting in broad daylight, they had turned the pacific market the Awarashi family worked at, the Garakuta, into a mass of panic. But of course, as the head bodyguard of Kantou region's rightful ruler, there was no way she would have let things go their way.

After all, that was the area she had been entrusted with.

One of the most shocking events of that day had been that not only her recruited children, but also the family that had been neglecting her help from the start, had mobilized themselves in her favor. And, together with them, she had been able to get rid of the thieves, pretending everything had been nothing but an entertaining public play, so that the victims would have been able to get back their stolen belongings and no more ruckuses would have been made – not to mention the number of costumers wouldn't have diminished.

In the end, everything was resolved.

Not only the Awarashi members had acknowledged her hard work and respectable lack of hesitation to face an enemy for their sake, but had also joined the children in pledging themselves to her. Much how like they had done with the first Nura heir and her mother, the Awarashi had put themselves under her command, while the children decided to create a new Kumi, naming it after their leader.

All in all, things had become a little confusing after the Awarashis' promise to follow her. She hadn't been there for very long, nor yet comprehended their habits or been able to understand how they exchanged Sakazuki. But, somehow, it seemed they had accepted her pretty well, much like the children, as the transaction was made with a joyful Tejime.

She remembered wondering back then how everyone's faces – especially her master's – would be when she had finally arrived home. She had hoped to see the pride in his eyes, but had been sure he was going to be rather appalled with the children following her on her way inside, holding onto the hems and yuki of her white and blue furisode. Strangely enough, the expression he wore when he had welcomed her back had been a mixture of both.

Nevertheless, the Tsurara-gumi had been accepted and was living there ever since.

By the end of the explanation, the aide was smiling to herself at the many gleeful memories brought back to the surface of her mind. That, however, only lasted until she raised her head back at the heirs, not knowing how to respond to the looks they were all giving her as they remained motionless for a moment.

"W... What is this...?" after a little while of silence amongst them, Jirou was the first to speak, although only to himself and in a rather low voice that was barely audible in the current sonority of the room. "Isn't it a fine story...?"

"Oikawa-san..." with her eyes narrowing a little, Yura's lips were parted in the slightest as she muttered the girl's name in her thoughts.

"Everyone?" with a drop of sweat on one of her cheeks, Tsurara attempted to understand what was going on, until she was caught by surprise by Kiyotsugu's hands over hers. "Hahi?!"

"Uwaaaah~!" Shedding man tears, the wavy-haired young man completely invaded the servant's personal space by bringing her hands near his chest, his face leaning so close to her she could feel water drops falling onto her lap, "So moved! I'm so moved by you, Oikawa-kun!"

"Eh? W-What?"

"She deserves a toast!" freeing one of her hands, Kiyotsugu announced as he grabbed his cup of mecha.

"W-Wait, you're going a little too far!" finally back to herself, Yura snapped as she raised an open palm at him.

While watching the little commotion and not minding the looks some people were giving them, Kana was the only one that still found herself unable to move. Quietly observing the other four, she could perceive her earlier mental question had been indirectly answered – Tsurara really did get along well with children. Probably to the point she could be considered already experienced enough to become a good mother, despite her age.

Now that the Nura bride had thought about it, how was it that she herself got along with kids? She had never really interacted with a little one enough to be able to tell if she could successfully have her way with them. Giving her beloved fiancé a healthy and prominent next heir was certainly in her plans for the future, but although she was aware that becoming a perfect family nowhere easy, she could never really imagine herself going **through** the difficulties of parenthood, only overcoming them, as well as she had never really thought about how she could have a good relationship with her child or children.

Pursing her lips slightly, she reluctantly concluded she was still far behind her undeclared rival.

Her way to becoming an exemplary wife was still long, not only in that matter, but also in the housework. Just when she had thought she had finally started understanding her future routine, she was once again reminded she was still quite the spoiled young lady when her meal was taken to her. In all her distraction while watching the morning practice, she hadn't even perceived how much time had passed since it had started, neither had she thought of leaving for a single moment to check how things were going around the house or if she was needed to anything, nor she thought she would have had the idea of taking everyone's lunch to them.

A very interesting idea, she had to admit.

Analyzing it a little more, she was able to understand the essence of Tsurara's intentions better. By taking everyone's lunch to them, she had avoided having the foul smell of sweat infesting the house, for some people surely wouldn't be able to wait until they could bathe properly so that they could head to the dining hall. She had also been quick and smart enough to bring as much help as she could, so that no one would have been left hungry for too long. And when everyone was done, they could take all the time they wanted bathing later.

There had been no real need for her to have bothered with that, though. The way from the doujou to the dining hall was not connected to the one to the kitchen, where she spent most of her time, so the stench wouldn't have affected her. It had also probably taken her a lot of time to prepare the trays for everyone and organize the children to deliver them, which she could have perfectly speared herself of.

But she had done so anyway.

Cooking, sweeping, washing – those kinds of usual chores were part of the Ienaga daughter's private classes with her future mother-in-law, while she was still in the process of becoming her successor. At first, she had thought she was doing well within time, although really slowly, being it her skills in said matters was almost zero by the time she had left her old home. Yet how would she do regarding other basic acquirements for being not only a good housewife and mother, but also a good woman, such as altruism? The fact she had never really thought about it already gave her a hint of what the answer could be.

A rather disturbing one.

Continuing to watch the comic scene in front of her, the heiress took notice of how she couldn't bring herself to even force a little smile. Although she couldn't neglect the moment was a funny one and wished to be able to enjoy it, it seemed that she was simply unable to, due to the many inner conflicts being awakened within her. Yet again, she was putting herself down – a despising habit she had picked ever since she had arrived at the Nura house.

But yet again, she was mentally telling herself not to do so.

There were still many factors against her – she still had too much to learn in too little time. After all, she was not yet expected to become as experienced as the current Nura mistress, but only when she was at an actual age of reason. However, she hoped with all her heart that she would be able to reach one of her biggest objectives in life in time for her wedding, for what she wished the most was to not to have to rely on anyone's – much less the head aide's – assistance in her everyday affairs after she was married, as her future husband had decided.

And she wouldn't rest until that dream came true.

"W-W-Well, everyone... I must get going!" laughing nervously, the young servant unknowingly cut off her master's fiancée's trail of thoughts as she was finally able to break from the obnoxious young man's grip, not wasting a second before getting on her feet. "I had promised Wakana-san and Kejourou not to take too long here, s-so... excuse me!"

"Wait~! Oikawa-san~~~!" Jirou called after her as she took her leave with a hand in the air, but was ignored as she pretended not to hear him over all the noise in the room.

"Ienaga-san?" not minding the blond's pathetically failed attempts to get the white beauty's attention, Yura called her friend discreetly, who seemed to be staring into empty air.

"Eh?" blinking, the chocolate-haired beauty turned her head to face her, as if she had just come out of a trance.

"Are you okay?" the long-haired one asked with a worried frown.

"O-Of course I am!" Kana smiled back embarrassedly, her white lie being a little too obvious to her liking as she took her bowl of gohan and hashi from her tray. "Now, shall we begin eating?"

Just as the last word reached her ears, the long-haired brunette's cheeks reddened slightly as her eyes gained a certain glow while she nodded rather enthusiastically, "Yes!"

As the two started ahead of their companions, who didn't take long at all to do the same, the hazel-eyed heiress continued to silently watch the back of her subordinate-to-be as she made her way out. Amongst her friends, hers was the only mood that didn't seem to change as they started a conversation, which she could barely pay mind to while splitting her attention at the servant and her lunch. And, much like the last time that had happened, she succeeded in pretending to be interested in whatever the subject was, never losing Tsurara of sight. To her, it was rather intriguing how there were still quite a few things she hadn't yet taken notice of within that household, one of them being how the aide was always so well-treated by everyone.

Especially young males.

Back in Britain, due to the popularity of the alliances her family had with other powerful ones, Kana and her parents would often find themselves visiting other people's mansions or attending to social parties ever since they had arrived there. And, even though pretty much everyone they knew was already aware of her engagement, rarely any males her age would restrain themselves around her as she was always hiding behind her flowery fan. With those rather awkward experiences, she had become rather sharply perceptive with the behavior of the opposite sex regarding that matter, hence her being able to tell for sure quite a few men were attracted to her husband-to-be's most trusted servant.

Maybe it was also because Kana had already become used to that sort of attention when still in England, though it was an unwanted one, and because of the serious matters regarding her arranged man's relationship with the young bodyguard, that the fact the young men of the Nura house were more smitten of her undeclared love rival than herself irritated her. It was something uncalled for and irrational for many reasons, she admitted, but she couldn't help it.

The ugly darkness of jealousy was sprouting within her yet again.

She watched as the sapphire-eyed girl carefully walked up to the exit, sometimes stopping to receive the gratitude of the people she had done a great favor to. Trying to avoid hitting anyone with the limited movements her kimono allowed her, she had almost clumsily tripped over her own clothes, but was helped right away by a tall young man with a blush on his usually pale cheeks. And here and there, there were small groups of males that would call her for whatever reason, the younger ones bearing the look Kana knew so well.

And, unnoticed by her, the Wakagashira was no exception.

While being surrounded by a fair number of young women of the many Kumi of the guests hosted at his home, Rikuo pretended to pay attention to whatever they were talking – rather squealing – about to him, having luckily chosen to take a seat away from his bride's field of vision without even being aware of it. As he either just randomly nodded or shook his head whenever he was asked anything, his burgundy eyes were focused on one direction alone as he silently observed his aide on her way out. Trying to hide his frown and twisting lips from the females all over him, who didn't deserve to have a taste of his disgust and loneliness, he sipped his sake as slowly as he could, his grip on the cup tightening every time he would spot the one of his affections giving her attention to someone else.

She was doing it again.

Perhaps that time it wasn't her intention, but yet again, she was mercilessly crushing his heart. While pondering about why she hadn't come to serve him herself, he hoped she would at least see that he was there now, rather than seeming to pretend he didn't exist – or, at least, that was how he had felt when watching her pass by him without even giving him a look. But as she finally crossed the room and waved goodbye to everyone before closing the doors, he decided resentfully to forget about it.

"Oi, Rikuo!" Zen, who had joined the people watching the practice quite some time before, called the Sandaime over the many voices echoing through the room. "Quit spacing out! Your food will get cold!"

"Hm? Oh, yeah." back from his deep thoughts as he was still staring at the closed shouji doors of the doujou, as if asking for the white beauty to open them again, Rikuo looked down at his tray, finding out his meal was almost becoming cold. With the hashi offered by a pigtailed member of the Bakeneko-gumi, he muttered to himself, "Itadakimasu..."

~o0o~

It was overwhelming.

A busy and eventful morning followed by a delicious meal and a relaxing warm bath, together with the darkish and cold atmosphere provided by the storm outside and the tranquilizing sound of heavy rain, hardly anyone would be able to stay active – the white-haired Wakagashira was no exception. As he walked through the shadowed innermost corridors with low eyelids, he couldn't wait to be able to join the rest of his usually lively household and collapse onto his fluffy futon. That was all he had in mind, before he slid the shouji doors of his room open, finding a very pleasant surprise.

"Ah, Rikuo-sama. You're finally here." he was welcomed with the warm and ever-so-cheerful smile of his head aid, who seemed to have been waiting for his arrival while allowing herself to read one of his books. But upon seeing the towel on his shoulder and how wet his hair was, her expression became one of utter surprise with a hint of worry, "Eh? Are? You... have taken a bath? W-What about...?"

"My body is fine. I got Zen's permission first." immediately understanding what she was about to ask, he explained simply, making his way inside after closing the doors. "It was kinda painful... but I actually feel better now."

"I see... that's a relief." Tsurara sighed, figuring out why her master had taken so long to come to his place. For having to hide his injuries from everyone else, he would have had to wait for everyone to bathe first. And, after such a long training, the everyone would most likely want to take much longer than usual to come out of the mansion's inner onsen. "If that's the case, Waka won't need this anymore, right?"

As he carefully sat next to her and followed her eyes with his, Rikuo was able to spot a wooden bowl filled with water and a soaked fabric half-floating in it. Remembering he had been needing help to bathe due to his wounds and feeling bad for making her waste her time coming all the way there to wait for him, he sheepishly answered, "N-No... I guess not."

"Then I should be taking my leave now." Tsurara said dismissively, without showing any signs of being bothered by her master's carefreeness as she turned around to face him fully. "If Waka needs anything, just call m..." She trailed off slowly, and, as soon as her eyes locked with his, they narrowed slightly, "wait... Waka, you're not planning to go to sleep like that, are you?"

"Hm? Any problem with that?" he asked with a confused frown.

"Many! Rikuo-sama's futon would be soaked! That's the last thing you need in a cold day!" she raised her voice a little as she stated the obvious, her face making him shrink back a little. "With that body, Rikuo-sama can't afford to become ill!"

"Aah, no..." he sweat-dropped, "I don't think I would get sick that easily, even with–"

"I'm not risking it!" she authoritatively placed her hands on her hips, before taking the towel from his shoulder. Taking the liberty to open one of the dressers of his small drawer, she took out a comb with her free hand and proceeded to sit behind him. "If Waka isn't willing to do it, just leave it to me."

"O-Okay..." he agreed lowly, letting her do as she pleased. "My bad..."

"What are you saying, Rikuo-sama? Isn't that what I'm here for?" she blushed slightly, missing the smile approaching her master's lips as well as failing to perceive she had just conceived him exactly what he had wanted.

To stay with him longer.

With a surprisingly motherly skill, she began her careful job, raising his desire to fall asleep right then and there as he closed his tired eyes. He was able to resist the urge to do so, though, not only because he could fall back onto her if he didn't, but also because of the obvious fact he would miss the comfortable experience if he was to lose his consciousness so quickly. As she used the towel with one hand and the comb with the other, she worked on his silver mane gently and repetitively, as if meaning to pet him instead. His body relaxing quicker than he had thought, he almost let himself slip onto the wooden floor as his muscular arms, which were supposed to support him as he leaned backwards to make her task easier, weakened considerably. However, as soon as the memories of the events of earlier that afternoon flashed through his mind, he stiffened instantly, reminded of her actions towards him back then.

After a while of pondering with the sound of the rain as background, he decided to break the calm of the room with his deep tenor voice, "Tsurara."

"Yes?"

"I thought I had made it clear I don't like it when you ignore me." he said, serious and bluntly, attempting to give her a rather cold look from behind his shoulder.

"He... heeeh?!" sweat-dropping, she let her jaw drop as a yelp escaped from her lips. Reminding herself everyone was probably asleep by that time, she lowered her tone as she stammered with wide eyes, "W-What?"

"Don't play fool." he demanded, although knowing she was genuinely confused. "You were doing the same thing as yesterday night at lunch time. Why?"

"N-No, I-I-I... I...!" she continued to sputter in her search for words, her hands up and flailing as a hardly visible shade of red formed on her face.

Turning around to face her helpless self, the heir did what he could to keep his cool and expressionless façade, even though his wounds burned from the urge of releasing the laughter he held within his chest. As cruel and perverted of him as it could be, he had to admit it – cornering her was surely amusing sometimes.

"I just... felt like Kana-sama had been too suspicious of us lately... because of what happened at the Matsuri. Rikuo-sama was really careless back then and... I let that happen." only able to speak normally after she avoided his penetrating burgundy gaze, she only stared at the floor, her tone and expression becoming serious as well, but with a little hint of embarrassment still remaining on her cheeks. "I don't think she should be underestimated like that. Women can tell those kinds of things, and Ojou is a very perceptive person. If she hadn't been sick... probably..."

"I see... I guess that was the smartest thing to do, then." he sighed, acknowledging everything that had been said as he returned to his previous position.

He sure had to be more cautious. There was no space for audacity anymore in his advances now that he understood his arranged fiancée seemed to be aware that something was going on between the two of them besides what their duty bound them to. But even so, he didn't have the slightest bits of regret towards what he had been making his trustful underling go through ever since his confession, the fact he knew she also didn't relieving him. And, as he allowed her to continue from where she had left off, he couldn't help but wonder about a question that had been residing in his mind without a concrete answer for some time, which had resurfaced by the raven-haired one's last statement.

If he really did have no choice but to marry his old friend by any misfortune, what would it be of his aide and himself?

He had been asking himself the same question over and over for very long every time he considered the possibility of not being able to share his life with the one he actually wanted to, which he hated to admit that was not far-fetched at all. And, as much as he could never really imagine himself and his oldest childhood friend as husband and wife, he would never actually dare to betray her if they were. After all, once married to her, he may not be expected to stay loyal to her, but the expectations would lie in something far more compromising – a fourth generation. And, as scrupulous and prideful as he was, he would never be able to even face himself in the mirror if he was to hurt his supposed future wife and child when they eventually found out about his possible affair, since it would be nearly impossible for them not to. There was no doubt he would end up hurting his aide in the process as well. Once found out, she would most likely lose her respect and merit within the Nura household, having to deal with being considered a promiscuous woman for the rest of her life. That would be far too immoral and dirty of him, and, even though his subordinates wouldn't dare to say it on his face, he knew what would happen on his back.

At the end of the day, he could only come to one answer to his question: he would most likely be forever doomed to pretend to be happy while raising the splitting image of himself and someone he couldn't think of as more than as a sister. In that meantime, all he would be able to do is to watch the woman of his affections either spending her life all by herself or pledging it to another man.

He couldn't decide which would be worst.

That was why he couldn't help it – every time a male was spotted acting too intimate of her, anger would instinctively awake within him, for it would always remind him a not-so-remote possibility of someone other than him taking his place in his aide's heart undeniably existed, regardless of her seemingly undying love for him. As much as he would feel much more at ease if people could only have one special person in a lifetime, he didn't wish her such everlasting loneliness, but on the other hand, he could not stand the disgusting idea of the woman of his affections giving her everything to whoever it could be, if it ever happened.

He despised such thoughts and yearned to get rid of them, not only because they infuriated him, but also for them not to interfere with his determination to have her despite all the odds not being on his favor and for her own sake. After all, if she did find someone else, he would have to respect her decision no matter what, but he wasn't sure of what could happen if the rage those thoughts caused him continued to grow. And since the last thing he would want was to ruin her happiness, he would still try to forget everything about that matter and concentrate on his goal. Yet it would all come back to him one time or another, and so he still couldn't negate what he was.

A selfish bastard.

With only the sound of rain as background, he continued to mentally debate with himself about the many chances of things not going as he wanted until the day of his marriage and cogitating the many scenarios that said chances could lead his life to – one more unbearable than the other. As his face started becoming dull within the passing minutes, he totally lost his notion of time in his thoughts, only regaining it when his servant released his long and spiky snow white hair with a smile of satisfaction.

"Done~!" she said cheerfully, raising to her feet and making her way to the drawer she had taken the comb from. Sitting on her knees again, she cleaned the wet object with her kimono's yuki before putting it back in place and putting the soaked towel in the water-filled bowl she had brought with her, "Alright, now it's for good~! I'll be leaving then, Wak–" she was about to take the bowl in her hands and make her way to the door as she turned around to bow her head to him when she was suddenly cut off by something warm sneaking around her back. Just as she realized what was happening, she was pulled back into something hard, and soon her back was covered with heat.

"You don't have to leave yet." he whispered lowly, filling her left ear with warmth and giving her the same feeling as of when he had ordered her not to answer poor Jirou's desperate calls the night before.

Feeling chills up her spine and cheeks stinging from the blood flushing in them, Tsurara was back to stammering uncontrollably, "W-What are you saying, Rikuo-sama? I-I have a lot of work to do! The r-rain is making everything difficult today, a-and—hiii?!" yet again being interrupted, the azure-eyed beauty yelped in surprise, both of her tiny hands soon covering her mouth as her blush deepened.

Whether it was just her that was lowering her guard around him in those situations for being too used to them or his hands were becoming more skilled out of habit, she couldn't decide, but it was definitely shocking how he had been able to catch her with so much ease she hadn't even felt it when he swiftly pulled off her scarf. Still not wanting to look at him directly, she had kept her eyes facing forward in her cluelessness, and that was all he had needed as an opening to be able to nuzzle his face into the base of her exposed neck. And, after allowing himself to inhale her sweet flowery scent, he proceeded to plant deep kisses all the way up her soft white skin, his grip on her waist growing tighter as she inevitably attempted to get away.

Able to send his previous disdainful thoughts away as he delighted himself with her presence, he was sure that as it wasn't the first time such things haunted his mind, it wouldn't be the last one. At least, not until the young woman in his arms was officially his forever. And that was the only possibility he wished to consider, for he was certain he would never be willing to give up on her.

If only he could keep her within his hold forever...

"Rikuo-sama... please..." finally, she started pleading, as she managed to free her arms from his loosened grip and use one of her hands to seal his itching lips.

Stopping as soon as her cold touch reached him, he raised his head expecting to find a puppy-like deep blue stare in his direction. Disappointed with the fact her head was still facing the shouji doors of the outermost corridors, he at last freed his servant, knowing it would make her turn around with a questioning look. As soon as she did so, he didn't waste a second to take the hand that was about to let go of him as well, intertwining his hard fingers with her smooth thin ones. Meanwhile, his other hand traveled its way to the back of her inky hair, bringing her forehead to his as she was caught in his hypnotizing ruby eyes. With her cheeks as red as tomatoes, she flinched slightly upon realizing in what position they were

The same as her master's fourteenth birthday.

Already aware of what was probably coming next, she was about to try struggling off again, before understanding that what he wished was to stay something face-to-face. Reluctantly, she allowed him to do so, promising herself to avoid him at any signs of suspicious movements.

"Tsurara..." he began slowly, his eyes lowering down to her pinkish lips for a little as he caressed them with his thumb. "there's still time. Like I said many times before, your heart and your body..." he paused for a moment, his penetrating blood red gaze back to her cautious yet equally passionate azure one. "entrust everything to me."

He should really stop doing things like that. It was becoming more and more usual of him, making questions and requests when his desire to claim her lips in his was actually bigger than receiving a response. Whatever she was about to say when she opened her mouth a little while still not lowering her gaze was secondary as he closed the small gap between them with a simple movement, while she was a little too slow to escape. Soft sweetness invading his tongue, he closed his eyes slowly, ignoring everything else, especially the disturbing heat in his cheeks. And, in all his distraction, he still failed to take notice of something.

By the time he had entered the room, he hadn't closed the shouji doors completely.

~o0o~

I... AM... ALIVE!

Man, I'm quite worried about NuraMago fanfiction now that the second OVA and the English translations of the last chapter are out. Why are there so little readers/writers? This fandom will be reduced to zero soon~! ;A; Anyways, it's no use to bother you guys with that stuff. But let me just apologize for this veeery late chapter, because even though I warned you guys about the possible delay, not even I thought it'd take THIS long. I mean, man, three months! DX I guess I was too caught up with homework and charity translations I've been doing here and there, not to mention a bit of writer's block, hence the most delayed chapter I've updated for this story. Once I got the inspiration, I even started sacrificing sleep and free time to be able to finish this faster, but looks like it wasn't of much use after all... I'M SO VERY SORRY, GUYS! щ(ಥДಥщ)

On a brighter note, who else is anxious for Dark Pawn?! On an even brighter note, have you guys read the last Tankoubon Omake of Volume 25? If you haven't, do forgive me for spoiling the surprise, but I just need to share it: _**RIKUTSURA HAS OFFICIALLY BECOME CANON!**_ YESSS! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE NOW!

Okay, I won't say any more than this so that you will be able to have the sweet taste of shipping victory when reading the last volume yourselves. But I can say this: I now feel like my story isn't that OOC anymore, because I've found out original Rikuo and Tsurara are certainly up to some sexual tension. My writing will has just been burst! Thank you very much, Shiibashi-sensei!

Now let's all cry together, fellow shippers.

And after crying, let's have some remarks! Please, read at least the first one~!

1) For all you guys who are confused about Edo suddenly becoming Toukyou: due to indecision about what ancient Japan period I should have set this story in (Edo, Taishou or Meiji), I had been using Edo Era, but someone convinced me Meiji Era was better, so now this story will be set in the first years of Meiji Era, and the user Citsimsan shall take all the responsibility for that. Ohohoho~!

2) Yet again, I embedded some voice drama and light novels lines and scenes in the story. I also mixed a bit of the first NuraMago seiyuu event in it. Speaking of this event, in case you guys never watched them, I've got links for them and for translations (made by myself in one of my charity tasks). So, if you want them, just PM me~!

3) I'm sorry I wasn't able to add a good enough ItaRei moment... I shall try to do my best to fill this pairing in at any opportunity, but I still can't promise anything. Dammit. DX

4) Yura is not Yura without her TKG. Nuff said. B-(

5) Sorry, guys, no umbrella scene! But no worries, I may have better plans for it later~!

6) Okay, I had already mentioned Rinko was in the story, for those who hadn't remembered/noticed that in the chapter of Kana's introduction, but yeah, I just **had** to imply Usami Yura's participation too! And I shall do the same with others! You know what they say, "the more, the merrier"~! XD By the way, about Rinko's surname, I took it after the youkai Shiro Hebi, since she's its descendant.

7) I'm very sorry for writing another terrible kissing scene and that the RikuTsura moment was so damn short... TT3TT

8) If anyone has gotten vibes of Kiyotsugu liking Tsurara or something... it's all just your impression. No, seriously.

9) Yes, the Tsukumogami are children in this story. I couldn't really think of them as anything else. ;P

10) The group of thieves I mentioned attacking Garakuta was the group of Tsukumogami in the manga.

Replies to my beautiful anons!

**hungrydotfridge:** so you are alive! Thank goodness! I wish I could have seen what you thought of the chapter before that one, though.

Thanks a lot!

It's only one page longer than the previous chapter. But the previous chapter has 1,200 or so more words. That's a big difference, lol. XD

No, no. With the Kitsune being a Nura ally and considering Rikuo a son to her, I doubt she didn't remove the curses of Nurarihyon and Hidemoto's bloodlines. She wouldn't private him from the right of choosing whoever he could love, be them human or youkai. Besides, like you said, it would be a waste of essential plot if the curse wasn't lifted, not to mention it would mean the manga had an incomplete ending.

Yeah... it's so sad we're left with so many questions unanswered.

Ohoho, yup~!

Ah, you want Shouei? I guess a lot of fangirls do, lol. He's so adorable~! X3

Tsurara is human in my story, remember?

I hope the dose of jealous Rikuo was enough in this chapter, hahaha.

**eucliwoodscythe:** did I take too long? I did, didn't I? DX

Thanks!

It was just a bit of ship tease, but the chapter itself was mostly Rikuo's thoughts about Tsurara, so there was quite a lot of RikuTsura in my opinion.

Glad you liked the tsun-tsun Gozu and the ShouTsura bits~!

No one is minding Kana in this chapter, lol.

You're welcome and thanks for reviewing! Hope I haven't taken too long with this one!

**Miechan-ish:** I know. Who said the contrary~?

That's good! It was exactly my intention!

**kuro:** oh, master/mistress of the great long reviews, the humble me salutes you~~~! XD

Lol, don't worry about being late, because you weren't exactly late this time. And thanks!

Nope. Even though my mom wanted to make me and my sister Christians, like the rest of her side of the family, we don't have any religion, just like our dad. By the way, mind me asking what's yours?

18,320 words for this one, actually.

Kyah, thank you!

Yeah, last time was pretty quick. It was surprisingly easy to write. I believe it was more like the power of creativity, lol.

I'm glad you liked it so much!

Yup, jealous Rikuo again!

You knew what about Gozu and Mezu?

Lol, "little" Shouei. XD

Exactly!

Eh? Hon, it's not because he calls Tsurara "nee-san" that he considers her a sister or she considers him a brother. He calls her that because he respects her higher position regarding the clan, since she's the head aide of the main house, as stated in the official character book (I believe he may be older than her, too). And he does have a crush on her in the manga. He blushes because of the simplest of things, like her calling him by his name. Lol, Gozu saw it and was like "what's with this dude?" with an annoyed face. XD

Lol, yus!

I think so too!

I see.

She does? I even thought I was exaggerating on the portraying of the "Tsurara-is-suffering-a-lot-but-she-decided-to-ove rcome-that" thingy. I believe I've wrote that quite a lot in my long paragraphs and monologues.

It was just a peck, actually. Of course it is fast. But why is it weird?

Yes! This story's Kana shall develop even more!

It's not just the first season, but especially the first season. She was being more Mary-Sue than she should have been in there. Junji-sensei, why~~~~?

No, I don't think he wanted us to hate her at all. In fact, in the manga, she barely ever appears, so I don't see why anyone would hate her there aside from the fact of not being smitten of weakling damsel-in-distresses. But in the anime, it wasn't his fault. It was Junji-sensei's for being such a goddamn Kana fanboy.

You mean, like Kuro and Natsumi's and Kejourou and Kubinashi's children? OMG, yesss! They would make wonderful babies~!

The magic of words~! Lol, no.

I did make a lot of them.

Yes~!

MI~SA~KI~! Lol, sorry, I just had to make another lame joke. But then again, how is that being lucky?

Yes, but usually, people make pairing names with the names that are most used to refer to the characters that compose it. For example, HitsuHina, for Toushirou and Momo's pairing.

Well, I only ship them because I think they look good together and the hair omake pretty much sealed the deal for me when Reira made Itaku blush over her looks. That's why I already have an idea of how things would be between them, so I don't think they would be hard to portray.

A good or a bad weird?

It might be surprising if I decide to make them arranged weds and if I can fit them in the story.

Hm, I see. Then... maybe you didn't know how to deal with the registration? I mean, you didn't complete it, right? If you did, did you enable e-mails from FanFiction and confirm your account?

If you didn't sign up, you didn't really join. You just visit it.

I see. I thought, from what you had said, that you didn't know that.

Yes. First and last, if I decide not to make one-shots or such.

Nah, I don't have the inspiration to write my other stories anymore. Being too much into RikuTsura pretty much made me forget about why I liked my SE pairings in first place. I loved SoMa and liked KiMa, but now, I'm totally indifferent about them. I think Soul and Maka are awesome as partners and characters, but even though their bond is really deep, pretty much all shokunin-weapons have similar relationships. Their feelings are quite obvious too, but they still lack quite a bit when it comes to ship tease.

I don't see why discipline is a bad thing... but then again, maybe your notion of discipline is different.

Oh, okay then. I'll believe you. I have a younger sister, so I understand.

They seem really fun, but not quite easy. Still, I'm sure you can manage them even though they're tiring.

Oh, thanks~!

Thanks again. But I'm not amazing, haha.

I used to update on a weekly basis before, remember? Then, I took a month to update two or three times, but I managed to update within weeks again in the previous chapter.

Nyaw, was it? Thaaaank you!

You're welcome!

Oh, you're the same age as my little sister, then.

I also have 17 subjects. Haha, tough life.

No need to apologize. At least you reviewed.

Again, I'm totally okay with your grammar. I can understand everything you write, so it's fine. But how is that like a disclaimer? I think you meant like an Author Note.

What sentence~~~? Don't be mean! I'm drying of curiosity!

Yay! *hugs*

OMG, you almost took me three pages to compose a reply this time! You're surpassing yourself! XD

**anone:** you're welcome!

Thanks a lot for that. This is the most popular RikuTsura fanfic, so I can believe what you say, haha.

**Guest:** thank you!

I did write "bump", though... o_o

I will, thank you!

**pelovely67:** I'm so sorry for not updating soon at all! ;A;

On a brighter note, thank you for reading and reviewing! I hope the wait was worth it!

**anone:** oh, you're reviewing again? Thanks! You didn't have to!

Yup. RikuTsura is too incredibly kawaii~!

Eh~! How flattering! How many times have you read this story, if you don't mind me asking?

I'm so sorry I didn't update soon (life got in the way – well, school)... but I hope this chapter has compensated for the wait!

**divinecriticizr:** hiya~! Thanks for reading and reviewing~!

Hehehe, thanks again! I've worked hard on this!

I know, right? It really **is** kind of random. But I think that's the best way to work the situations out, since the characters and the events of the story are one connected to the other, following a certain timeline. I guess that matches my writing abilities, because I'm way better with third person than others.

I have no idea of who that is or was (ignorant Brazilian), but they seem pretty skilled. Can you indicate me any of their works that you may find particularly good, pwease? :3

"Wall"? Kana-chan shall have a happy ending~! ;D

Once again, thank you~! *accepts cookies with joy*

Pretty much everyone talks about that too. It's always very flattering, hehehe~!

Anything wrong with the grammar? Please, feel free to point it out~!

Thanks again~! I look forward to more comments from you~!

Okay, I hope again I haven't forgotten to reply to anyone! Once more, **I AM REALLY SORRY, GUYS**! But please, do tell me what you thought of this chapter and stay with me until the end! Till next time!


	10. Cooperativity

Sighing deeply with a small smile across her lips, Kana rested her head on one hand, elbowing her little table as she watched her sound-asleep childhood companion beside her. With her hands almost forming fists, the inky-haired Keikain leader breathed softly through her mouth, resembling a little baby. In such position, one would never be able to take her for what she really was, for she seemed completely off-guard and defenseless.

Much like how she had been not long before.

_While preparing her futon, ready to take a nap after coming back from the Nura onsen, Kana had found herself trying to figure out where Yura's mind could be as she had stopped unfolding the one that had been given to her, staring down at it with a blank expression. Seeing how her mind had seemed to be far away and thinking that temporarily sharing rooms could have not been a very good idea, the chocolate-haired one had asked her friend if she wanted a room of her own, and the reaction she had received from her had been rather interesting. As if waking up from a dream, Yura had shot her once-lowered head up instantly, looking at her hostess as if she had just taken notice of her presence. Her huge brown eyes had been shining as they widened slightly, as well as her cheeks heated with a perfectly visible shade of pink, while she had tried to assure her she was just fine with things as they were._

_Much to her dismay, Kana hadn't bought it._

_Something had been different with the long-haired archer ever since morning – she had been caught spacing out quite a few times by her temporary roommate while they watched the doujou practice. And, as she had decided to join said practice, the one left behind couldn't help but wonder if her intentions had been to pour what seemed to be some sort of frustration onto her physical efforts._

_Although Kana had decided not to bother her about that matter back then, she had been a little worried about her after that. That was why she had thought it could have been the right time to go further into the subject as she had asked more questions. But with all of them being messily dismissed with many more hints of odd behavior from the other heiress, Kana had been left with only one conclusion about it all._

_"Could it be... you're having love troubles, Yura-chan?" she had asked while trying to hold back a giggle, watching her friend's jaw drop and words fail, as if she had just been caught red-handed._

_And, indeed, she had._

_Two days before, Kana wouldn't have even imagined the two of them had so much in common, despite being so different. To her, Keikain Yura, the tomboyish and headstrong Onmyouji who always let her often-brute actions speak for her, would never have really had enough interest in a love-life to actually worry about a man's feelings towards her. But, as the Ienaga heiress had listened to her explanations of why she had been acting so distant and exasperatedly that day, she was able to figure how wrong she was._

_Apparently, the night before, Yura's orange-haired indirect kin, Keikain Mamiru, had taken the liberty to steal her first kiss. Not waiting for any justifications whatsoever for his actions, she hadn't wasted a second and ran away out of pure embarrassment, avoiding contact with him since. Such thing had been very hard, for they lived in the same house, but she had managed it, as she knew his daily schedule very well._

_However, in that meantime, Yura had inevitably found herself over-thinking her relationship with and feelings towards him. Soon, she had reached a point in which she was unable to get rid of him, even though she hadn't yet directly faced him. Unable to understand herself and the state she was in, she had been struggling very hard to organize the mess her head was becoming. And maybe that was the reason why she had been so appalled when her friend did her the favor to solve the mystery for her._

_She was in love._

_As expected, after that revelation, Kana had watched her go through many emotional stages as both of them talked for a long time. First, there was the most obvious of all: denial, followed by a quick hint of depression and fear. But then, finally, the acceptance had to come._

_And, together with that, insecurity._

_One more thing Kana had never thought that could happen was ever being able to gain the opportunity of having such a feminine talk with someone like Yura in her life. But, after the latter had at last acknowledged her feelings, she had started showing signs of worry about what to do next, and that had made many questions start sprouting in her mind, such as what the young man from the branch family could feel towards her and what his intentions when he stole her first kiss could have been. Since she had been unable to answer them, all Kana could do was give her friend a few motivational words._

_"Yura-chan, you see... I can't really speak for your Onii-san, but... I can give you an advice, from my own experience. I think you shouldn't worry about what he may feel towards you. At least, not for now. It might drag you down, because Yura-chan can only find that out by talking to him. That's why, Yura-chan... I think that all you can do for now is to be honest with your feelings." were the only words of wisdom she had been able to come up with. But they had had the opposite effect._

_After all, Kana had basically told her to confess to him._

_It had been after Yura had started babbled things along the lines of it being too soon, with her ears blowing out steam from flushing red, that the Ienaga heiress had tried to rephrase her thoughts better, "C-Calm down, Yura-chan! I'm not telling you to just throw yourself at him like that! W-What I mean is that... I think you should think less about his feelings and more about yours. And, if... if you really like him as much as it looks, I think you should tell him how you feel. It doesn't need to be now – you're the only one who can tell when it will be the right time. But, if I were you, Yura-chan... I'd make up my mind soon. Mamiru-san has now finished his training and will be receiving an official position now, right? He might end up having to find a wife soon, too. With his appearance and merit, it wouldn't take long at all. You shouldn't take too long thinking about it, if you don't want to lose him."_

_Surprisingly, they had come to an agreement at those words. With a nod, Yura had promised to follow her advice and would try to take things as easy as possible – after all, sooner or later, she would end up having to face him. And, since the last thing she wanted was for them to grow distance with her awkwardness, she had decided to put up a strong front while giving her feelings some thought. That was the time she had been finally able to fall asleep._

Back from her memories, the smile spread wider across Kana's face as she averted her attention from her friend to a fancy envelope on her little table. Dreamily, she stared down at it for a while as she brought the candle beside her to be able to read in the darkness caused by the rain. Her face suddenly becoming serene as her eyes watered, she held back the childish cries within her throat, so that Yura's slumber wouldn't be interrupted, while gently rubbing the name of the sender of the letter inside the envelope with her thumb.

"Ienaga Kanako".

Before leaving England, Kana's dearest mother had given to her a six-page letter as one of her good-bye gifts – and, to both of them, that gift was the most special of all. In said letter, Kanako had poured all of her feelings for her beloved daughter, making use of endless resources to encourage her to face the many difficulties that she would have to as she had parted to her new home. With three pages written in English and three in Japanese, and a few teardrops here and there, Kanako had made sure her only child would never forget about her origins and her objective in life, as she clearly stated in her perfect handwriting she knew her little girl was capable of finding happiness wherever she was.

Kana had been miraculously able to keep the letter intact since she had received it, and no one but her mother and herself knew about its existence – it was something for just the two of them to share. Within time, she had read it over and over, especially during her trip back to Japan, and it had never failed to raise her hopes, self-esteem and confidence. That was why she found herself in need to read it again.

After all, it was about time she followed her own advice.

~o0o~

"Dammit, those guys..." Itaku muttered to himself with hands forming fists while he walked aimlessly through the Nura mansion's dark corridors, as he deemed anywhere to be a better place than the room he had been given, not bothering to hide his frustration from the young brunette passing by him.

His comrades were really good people, – there was no doubt about that – but spending too much time with them could be a real pain sometimes. He was the type that would get easily annoyed when made fun of, and they knew that very well, yet their lame jokes and suggestive comments about him and their pink-haired Kumi member had followed him around ever since lunch time. Needless to say it had come to the point where he couldn't handle it anymore, so he had left the room he had been sharing with his male Toono companions to get a break – thankfully, they hadn't come after him.

Sighing, he wondered if the same applied to the female side. Probably not, since at least they knew when to stop. He also believed it would be too dull to try to tease someone who would always go along with everything and never lose her temper or elegancy. Certainly, someone like her could be exactly what he needed to balance his own hot-blooded personality.

His future woman.

"Ara, Itaku." as he had been keeping his head down all the time, Itaku hadn't noticed another young woman coming from the opposing direction, until he heard his name being called at the end of the corridor. As if on cue, Reira had been coming back from the kitchen at the very same time he had been thinking of her, approaching him with her usual gentle smile.

A little surprised, he was about to greet her as he raised his head, until he was able to register the sight before him. Breaking into run at her direction, he completely forgot about the rest of the house as he asked loudly, "Reira! What's wrong?! Why do you look like a doll?!"

Backing off a little from the shock of the sudden question, the amber-eyed woman soon recovered as she placed her index finger in front of her smiling lips, as if warning him to keep it down. Sweat-dropping, he nodded as he apologized lowly, allowing her to give her answer, "I don't understand your question at all, Itaku. The only thing that's different in me right now is that I have my hair down."

"Huh?" blinking as he examined his fiancée's figure more carefully, Itaku couldn't help but blush slightly, realizing he had never seen her without her Chinese-styled buns and small braids. Mentally cursing the remembrance of a life-size geisha ningyou in her with her long hair completely loose, he felt like face-palming at the stupid things he had just said as he stuttered, "O-Oh... I wasn't used... to this hairdo... i-it's good."

"Thank you~" she merely giggled. "By the way, Setsura-san and Tsurara-chan aren't back yet. Since Setsura-san must be drinking with Kejourou-san and Tsurara-chan must be with Rikuo, there's probably no one at Tsurara-chan's room right now." She made a little pause, as if for suspense – something rather characteristic of her. "Perhaps you can come with me and make me company for a while."

The brunet had taken a while to register the last sentence he had heard. And when he did, his almost-invisible blush started going across his whole face as he blurted out, "Th... this kind of thing...! O-Only after w-we get m...!"

"Hm?" Reira could only tilt her head a little with a confused expression, making her fiancé take notice he was just getting ahead of himself again as he trailed off, before embarrassing himself even more.

"N-N-Nothing! Forget it!"

"So... that was a 'no', right?" regaining her calm smile, she easily dismissed his previous words, earning a nod from him. "Well, then..." on the tips of her toes, she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek when he had his head turned elsewhere, catching him completely undefended and making his blush return at full power. "I'll see you later~"

And with that, she walked away silently, her smile still intact, leaving the Kusari-gama wielder frozen in place.

~o0o~

She was in deep trouble.

As Natsumi made her way to her and her best friend's shared room, she spared a few seconds to give a questioning glance at the dark brown-haired young man who was passing by her with a troubled face and muttering something to himself, before immersing herself in her thoughts again.

Her dreams had finally been fulfilled – she had the man she loved all to herself. Yet it seemed the hardships regarding that matter were far from being over. On the contrary: with the kiss the two of them had shared, said hardships had only just begun.

The difference in age between him and herself was nothing to worry much about. On the other hand, even after taking so long to act on their feelings for each other, everything between them was now happening a little too quickly – so much that it startled both of them. With their unsaid confessions and their kiss, they had realized how they barely knew anything about each other's current selves – after all, they had spent quite a lot of time apart. Publicizing their relationship could also be a real problem for obvious reasons, as well as the fact they had no plans for the future whatsoever. In short, they needed more time to develop their interactions and for people to get used to the idea of seeing the two of them together, not as old acquaintances, but as a couple.

Still, they were willing to make everything work. Slowly but surely, they would resolve those matters, meeting in secret every day during their breaks, until they felt safe enough with each other to take responsibility for their semi-formed relationship in front of everyone else. With their hopes already high, they inwardly prayed everyone would accept them as they were.

Especially her overprotective best friend.

Although the idea of hiding something so important from the one whom she had never kept any secrets from didn't please her at all, Natsumi had no choice if she wanted everything to work out smoothly. After all, she was sure Saori would be the first to object to her relationship with her first love, not only because his world was totally different from hers, but also because of the suspicious events of the previous night regarding the two of them.

As she stopped in front of her room, taking a deep breath, the only thing that gave Natsumi some confidence to go on with the plan was that she was pretty certain her friendship would be strong enough to resist the outcomes of the risks she was taking. She and Saori had a very strong bond that had lasted for many years, achieving an unbreakable level. She knew her friend wouldn't leave her, no matter how many arguments and misunderstandings they could have regarding that situation.

"M-Maki~" forcing her usual cheerful tone and smile, the raven-haired girl slid the shouji doors open, trying to pretend to act normally and praying for the blonde not to start attacking her with questions so soon. "I'm back~"

"Oh... hey..." as the slow answer she received was nowhere what she was expecting, Natsumi stepped in and closed the doors silently.

She walked to her futon, examining her friend's face carefully, looking for any signs of illness as her voice seemed a little too weak. Finding nothing, she took a seat, watching her co-worker absent-mindedly play with her golden hair.

Although nothing was out of place, something still seemed off. The normally active and talkative young woman would usually either scold her for arriving late after they were done with their daily duties or start a conversation about anything that concerned her. Lately, her favorite subjects had been their mistress's marriage, as well as her relationship with her future husband, and the incident between Natsumi and her number one hero. But, that time, she seemed so strangely quiet the atmosphere felt almost eerie. And, as Natsumi was no longer able to take it, she broke the disturbing silence between them, "What's wrong?"

"Hm? What are you talking about?" finally averting her attention from whatever her thoughts had been so occupied with, Saori asked lowly. "There's absolutely nothing wrong. On the contrary, everything is simply perfect~"

"Eh...? M... Maki...?" the feline-faced maid could only stare back in utter confusion, now more than convinced something was indeed very wrong.

Could it be that Saori was keeping a secret from her, too?

"I-I'm... going to sleep, okay?" the blonde suddenly declared, seeming to realize what she had just said.

"Already?!"

"W-Well, we have no duties right now, so why not? Everyone else is sleeping, so it should be fine!" the pecan-eyed one hurriedly spread her white blankets as she laid down, covering herself completely, almost as if she was just hiding from her. "Come on, you take a nap too! Aren't you tired?"

"A-Alright..." was the only reply Natsumi could give.

While lying down and covering herself as well, she obviously took longer than she generally would to actually fall asleep, due to both her curiosity towards her friend's weird behavior and to the fact her encounter with her beloved was still fresh in her mind. And, as ironic as it could be, what bothered her about Saori's actions was not the fact she was refraining to reveal something probably important to her most trustful companion, – since Natsumi herself was doing the same – but the fact she couldn't even ask her anything about it. After all, coming up with questions could only make Saori shoot them back at her, which would put her plan in a spot. Still, her current position could be advantageous exactly because of that, since she could be the one to shoot Saori's questions back at her if she asked any.

The two were tied for the time being.

~o0o~

"It was all... because of Kana-sama." again and again, the Nura mansion's top aide's serious voice was replayed within Yura's mind as she wandered through the dark corridors of the Nura mansion in her search for its future mistress's place. An hour earlier, when she was heading to the place where she was currently coming from, she had been able to meet the sapphire-eyed servant and made use of the perfect opportunity to ask her what she had been meaning to ever since lunch time about the change of attitude towards her.

And the answer she had received couldn't have surprised her more.

In the years the two of them had known each other, for whatever reason, Tsurara and Yura had never gotten along that well – most likely, the Keikain heiress's aggressiveness towards the current Nura head was the biggest motive behind it. That was why Yura couldn't **not** have been shocked when the aide admitted her gentleness during lunchtime were meant as an act of gratitude towards her, for she couldn't stand having to owe her anything. And, when Yura asked what exactly she had been owing her for, she was yet again caught off-guard.

For helping Rikuo.

That morning, when making her way to the kitchen together with Yukari to give her the delicious honey lemons, the young servant had asked what had happened while she had left the doujou to fetch the two heiresses their cha and sweets. As she listened to the little girl, it had only taken Tsurara a matter of seconds to understand why Yura would suggest Kiyotsugu to spare Rikuo of their group practice other than giving the forsaken Jirou a hand. After all, she had been suspecting the Onmyouji had noticed Rikuo's condition ever since the Harumatsuri, for it had been after she had elbowed his wounded torso that she had started restraining herself around him.

Perhaps the Wakagashira himself had also noticed the meaning of Yura's actions, since her title as a part of nobility had never been an impediment for her offensiveness towards him. And, although that possibility was highly embarrassing, Yura had decided to leave it aside as the head aide proceeded to speak. However, when she gave the second reason of her change of attitude towards her, neither her nor the archer were able to contain their blush.

Although the current Nura bride had already invited all of her old friends to her up-coming wedding, the only one who hadn't yet given a confirmation of her presence for the ceremony was Yura herself. Tsurara was well-aware of that, and, even though the two of them had not yet established a very healthy relationship, she was sure the gullible girl would be missed by her master if she didn't come, given how he valued his friendships so dearly. That was why the best Tsurara thought she could do was to convince – or rather **persuade** – her to come. And it had taken her a lot of goodwill to admit she had actually planned many other ways to please the Keikain leader, but, since she had been found out, there would be no point in doing them. Still, thanks to her efforts, she had received what she had been fighting for – once she was done with her demonstration of sincerity, Yura had willfully assured her presence on the wedding day.

The conversation could have perfectly ended right there. But Yura's curiosity had not, as she had yet again questioned the underling – that time, about the reason why Rikuo's body was in such condition. And it was then that she had heard the hesitantly-stated sentence that had been ringing to her ears until the time being. Following it, came the explanation about what had happened to the Sandaime on the unfortunate night he had earned his wounds and a request of the heiress's silence about what she had been told.

Yura had only been able to give a nod in response, impressed with the Nura-gumi's concealment about the situation. Since it all had happened in a public area, – a red-light street, no less – by the time being, the entire city should have been aware of it, and yet it was the first time she was listening to such story. Still, even with all that secrecy, she doubted that the Kumi members who had recently arrived at the Nura house hadn't yet noticed their head's situation, as she had told Kana before. Yet, unlike her fellow heiress, the aide had seemed to already know about that. And if she did, most likely, her superior did, too. With that realization, Yura's resentment had surpassed her amazement by far.

"Ienaga-san... I had no idea..." she muttered to herself with a sympathetic frown as she kept walking, forgetting for a moment about her search for the room she was sharing. "It must be really hard for h... eh?" she trailed off as she slowly raised her head from staring at the wooden floor, her dark brown eyes soon caught a rather comic scene. Covering her mouth to prevent an unladylike laughter from escaping her lips, Yura stopped in the middle of her tracks to watch a helpless duo crossing the next corridor.

So **that** had been how things had turned out from the events of earlier, she concluded.

_As soon as it had become nighttime and the rain had calmed down, the ever-so-lively Nura-gumi members had come out of their rooms with the idea of throwing a party for the guests of the household, including the three noble friends of the Sandaime and his wife-to-be. The excuse given had been that everybody wanted to welcome the rest of the Kumi and their leader's friends in a less formal and more social way than how they had done in the morning – more like how they had welcomed the Ienaga heiress as she returned to Japan. But despite that being a good reason, their real intentions were as clear as day. After all, partying had always been almost like routine for that carefree household ever since it had been founded. And, although it tended to go overbroad, that evening, everything had been going fairly well – so much that even the Keikain heiress, who had never been all that smitten to that place and its residents, had felt comfortable enough to participate the reunion yet again._

_But, as expected, it was all too good to be true._

_Sooner or later, things would certainly have become either stupidly destructive or just extremely pathetic. Yura had been quite aware of that from the beginning, and that was why she had prepared herself to flee at the smallest signs of either of those. Surprisingly enough, none of them had happened that time. Rather, it had been a blending of both._

_Yura had already been suspecting it would all go the wrong way by the moment Kana had assured her that her fiancé was perfectly able to handle alcoholic drinks as Karasu Tengu served him some Sake. Refusing to accept that absurd fact, the Keikain archer had watched him discreetly as he downed the first cup. As he showed to be completely normal, she had almost let her guard down, until Karasu Tengu served him again. That time, it hadn't been the same Sake, and the name written on its label – which Yura wondered how no one but her had noticed – seemed to already be enough to make anyone think twice before even **buying** the bottle._

_"Ayakashi-goroshi"._

_Why such thing was even at that mansion's stock was a question Yura had never been able to answer as she missed her chance stop the white-haired heir. As she watched him drink every last bit of his second cup, she had decided it was too late and started seeking for her chocolate-haired friend, who had left her side. And, while she crossed the room and passed by the loud and messy drunken crowd gathered in it, she had been too busy looking around to take notice of Rikuo leaving through the shouji doors of the outermost corridors._

_At least, not until the whole place fell into a sudden and awkward silence._

_Halfway to the other side of the room, Yura had followed everyone's shocked stares to the open shouji while slowly turning around, already expecting the worst. And, although what she had found was not exactly what she had in mind, it indeed had been an odd sight. Right before everybody's eyes, Rikuo had been legitimately attempting to seduce one of his underlings – a beautiful woman with long wavy hair and notable assets – as he held her hand and gave her an uncharacteristic smirk. Whatever he had said to her had her clearly embarrassed, and, for some reason, Rikuo's cheeks were just as red as hers._

_As the noise of the room had finally returned, the Kumi members and guests had started asking themselves what could have just crossed the Sandaime's mind for him to just go on hitting on a married woman while his bride was nowhere to be found. And, while said woman tried to figure out what could be wrong with her superior, Karasu Tengu had at last seen what kind of Sake bottle he had served, which had been stolen from him by the Wakagashira._

_And it was then things had started getting ugly._

"_Wh-What is thiiis?!" the black man's eyes looked like they were about to jump off his head as he was able to read the drink's label. "T-This venom! What's it doing here?!" he asked no one in particular as he ran over to the young man whose cheek color already matched the one of his eyes. Sadly, the little man was too late – as soon as he was about to snatch back the Ayakashi-goroshi, Rikuo dodged him with a simple movement, and swiftly moved to on to another victim._

_Ironically, that ended up being one of Karasu Tengu's children._

_The Sanbagarasu, his three older ones, seemed to have had enough of the party – even though it had merely started – and were taking their leave to proceed with their usual night-patrolling duty. Walking a little ahead of her brothers, the eldest daughter had been approached by the young Soudaishou as he held her in a half-embrace, one of his hands offering her a cup of the incredibly strong Sake he had just drunk._

"_Sa~~~sami~!" he called groggily, using the same charming smirk and seductive tone as with the first woman he had been with. "Are you already going...? It's too early... let's drink together~!"_

"_Sandaime?!" blushing madly, the young woman spoke uncharacteristically loudly as her commander threw himself at her, his back against her chest. Instinctively, she had her hands up to help him stay on his feet as he started sliding down, but couldn't bring herself to touch him as she asked, "W-W-What are you doing?!"_

"_This can't be... Sasami has...!" seeing the scene from inside the house, Karasu Tengu could only watch Rikuo come back in for the next first female on sight._

"_What's going on there?" one of the Kumi members asked, recognizing the bottle of Sake, which the Sandaime was putting inside his yukata. "Ah, that is–"_

"_This drink sure is dangerous!" another one worriedly mused. "If it keeps up like that, Rikuo-sama will...!"_

"_Ara, you're still drinking around, everyone~?" opening the room's fusuma with a smile, a short-haired woman stepped in, not taking notice of the situation. "Should I bring you guys some foo...?" she trailed off slowly as her son approached her with his pink face and weird expression. Her first reaction was to ask him if he was ill, but he was quicker than her as he skillfully pulled off some hairpins holding back her dark brown bangs, which had been meant to match her light lilac kimono and orange haori._

"_As expected of the woman chosen by Oyaji, you're so pretty..." the Nura heir openly declared, caressing the top of her head. "But you look even prettier with your hair down."_

"_Ri... Rikuo, you...?" Wakana sweat-dropped, her confusion making it impossible for any more words to come out._

"_Wha-?! Even Wakana-sama!?" a servant shouted as Rikuo approached someone else._

"_Geez..." Hitotsume could only glare at the scene as he sipped his own Sake cup. "The Sandaime is acting like a playboy, just like the Shoudaime when he was young."_

"_Well, I heard the Nidaime was a playboy as well..." Tamazuki sighed, petting his little dog. "I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later..."_

"_The Nidaime and the Shoudaime must have had a pretty fun life!" someone laughed from behind the two of them._

"_Hm? Dassai, you were here too?" Tamazuki turned around, looking at the third party as if he had just noticed his presence._

"_Yup! I like this kind of stuff!" he grinned carefreely, drinking an entire Sake bottle in a matter of seconds._

"_I didn't know you were this cute without that thing on your head." meanwhile, just as he had left his mother, the Wakagashira eyed an adorable raven-haired one in pigtails, who was blushing shyly at his comment and stare. "Just stay like that forever..."_

"_Ri... Rikuo~~~~!" was the only response he received for the flattery, "Like this... we'll get in trouble..."_

"_I get it now! He's just going off seducing all the ladies as an aftereffect of getting drunk! Even Mezumaru!" Gozumaru was the one to translate the situation to everybody, nearly earning a laugh from Yura, who had thankfully been able to avoid the seemingly perverted Nura head. "Oi, hey! You idiot!" he uselessly attempted to call back his assistant, who wouldn't even budge._

_As Rikuo left the feminine-looking boy to go for another woman, Yura almost felt bad for how close to a girl's said boy's appearance was. And, although he didn't seem to regret having taken off the horse skull he usually wore on top of his head to hide his face, she was sure he would be made fun off in the future for that. Maybe even Rikuo, too._

"_O-O~i." Nuregarasu, who had been peacefully appreciating her own cup of Sake, could only stare in confusion at the one taking the liberty to lie on her lap with lowered eyelids, "Rikuo-sama?"_

"_Hahaha, isn't this just fine?" he dismissively said with a goofy smile as he nuzzled himself into her._

"_Even my wife!" as Karasu Tengu reached them, he soon took his leave to wrap an arm around a Bakeneko-gumi young girl, who was busy serving Sake._

"_Hy-Hyah~!" the blonde Bakenekoya worker instantly blushed and flinched at his touch. "Rikuo-sama, you~"_

"_Even my subordinate!" Ryouta Neko hissed, which made Rikuo's arm automatically withdraw as he left the kanban-musume and threw himself on the lap of the nearest woman around – coincidentally, the first one he had approached ever since the symptoms of the strong Sake had started._

_Kejourou._

_Surprisingly enough, now that she had understood her master's situation, she seemed to have decided to welcome him as she offered nothing but a giggle at his perverted actions, "Rikuo-sama, where are you touching~?"_

"_Cut it ou~~~~t!" with a vein popping on his face, Kubinashi tapped the floor hardly as he glared his wife, not being able to see her blush and malicious laugh as she turned her head elsewhere. Directing the glare at his superior, he shouted, "This has gone too far already, Rikuo-sama!"_

"_Yes, that's right!" Kurotabou nodded. "Rikuo-sama, come back to your senses!"_

"_It's about time you leave the ladies alone, Waka!" Aotabou followed._

_Finally getting up, the first-time drunken young man smirked at his subordinates as he spoke in a way he never had before, which yet again had everyone's eyes wide open at him, "Yer too lou~d, guys! I bet yer just jealous!" He then raised his hand, challenging the three men to advance on him with his index and middle fingers, "If yer not likin' it, just try to steal the ladies from me! Fuu~"_

"_W-What did you say~~~?!" Kurotabou and Aotabou asked in unison, sweat-dropping simultaneously._

"_You guys too, if you wanna!" Rikuo extended the challenge to the elder ones._

"_Huh?" Gyuuki raised a brow at him._

"_Ya stinkin' old men... it's yer fault the main house smells o' fretfulness!" was the blunt response._

"_Haa!?" Hitotsume snapped, his expression harshly demanding redeeming and respect._

_Yet it seemed the current Soudaishou ignored him as he yelled loudly enough for all the people in the room to hear, "Come at me, all of ya!"_

"_Alright, this ends right here!" Karasu Tengu yelled back on top of his lungs, "EVERYONE, ON THE SANDAIME!"_

_At the command, no one had thought twice, for they all knew what the best thing to do was. And so, the Kumi members in the room that were the nearest to Rikuo instantly jumped onto him to hold him down, before he did anything reckless. But that only served for all of them to get swept away by the young commander's mercilessness as he sent every one of them literally flying with a single movement, not minding to cause them injuries._

"_What?!" Kubinashi, who had started pulling his weapon from within his clothes upon realizing how risky the situation was becoming, could not comprehend what had just happened before him._

"_That is...!" Aotabou trailed off as he saw what was in his master's right hand._

"_He was carrying a sword with him?!" Itaku instinctively reached out for his Kusari-gama._

"_Is this person sane at all?!" Natsumi asked, her face holding nothing but terror at the idea of her mistress marrying such a man._

"_Of course he isn't!" Saori stated the obvious, her expression mirroring her friend's. _

"_Where the hell is the Shoudaime in these kinds of situations!?" Dohiko asked as he found no signs of the only person who could beat some sense into his drunken grandson. And, together with the question, the fusuma were opened yet again, revealing two young women, who were carrying trays containing what seemed to be many different sorts of finger-food. The two had five trays – three for one and two for the other – all of them piled up one after the other in their arms._

"_Everyone, we've brought this~" one of them cheerfully announced. "Whoa, careful there, Kana-sama!" she said to the one beside her, who was visibly having problems with her balance for not being used to the additional weight._

"_I-I'm fine, Oikawa-san." Kana dismissed her, refusing to give up on such a simple task and doing her best not to embarrass herself in front of everyone._

"_I-Ienaga-san...!" the Onmyouji girl gasped. So the kitchen was where Kana had left off to. If Yura had known it, she would have already taken her leave long ago as well, although she had to admit everything she had just seen was worth it._

"_This is not a very good timing, Ienaga-kun, Oikawa-kun!" as soon as he was able to see the ladies standing outside, Kiyotsugu gestured for them to leave from the other side of the room, knowing they were probably unable to hear him with all the noise around them._

"_What?" the Nura bride blinked a few times. And, as she tried to enter the room and see what was going on, someone immediately stuck their head outside, causing her to fall back and almost drop her trays' contents as she screamed, "KYAH!"_

"_Yu-Yuki Onna~~~! Get away!" Gozumaru desperately demanded, his eyes bloodshot. As soon as he noticed the other female, he started yelling at her confused form as well, only scaring her more, "The women must get away~~~!"_

"_Eh...?" Tsurara could only sweat-drop in confusion at the brunet's odd behavior, only being able to understand something very wrong – at least, more wrong than the usual – was going on inside._

"_Guhah!" the rowdy young man yelped as he was hardly hit from behind on the head and sent straight to the floor._

"_Rikuo-kun?!" a no longer fearful, yet still utterly confused Kana took a step back at the sight of her arranged husband, who had been the one to throw Gozumaru to her feet as if it was nothing._

"_Yo, Kana-chan." Rikuo gave his fiancée the same smirk as he had given the other women he had been attempting to seduce, earning a furious blush from her (even though she knew something was very strange), for she had never thought she would ever be able to receive said look from him. He then turned to face his head aide, his face drastically changing in a matter of seconds – although he was still smirking, the expression he wore as he spoke to her could be likened to the one of a rapist as he adjusted his sword on his shoulder, "Ou, Tsurara. You came at a good time. Help me out here. __**Now**__."_

"_Ri... Rikuo-sama...?"_

"_Give everything to me." he ordered, his voice sounding deeper than normal._

_Hearing that, Tsurara was simply unable to react for a moment, and all she could do was to quietly force a smile as beads of sweat formed all over her face._

"_Please wait, Sandaimeee!" from the other side of the fusuma, the other Kumi members' voices could be heard as they all marched in his direction._

"_Hu... hum..." the aide stammered, trying to find ways of politely refusing her master's offer._

"_Come on, hurry up!" all of a sudden, the Wakagashira started raising his tone, as if meaning to intimidate her. "I'm tellin' ya to submit to me!" he reached out a hand at her, his now darkened eyes making his actions and words seem even more suggestively obscene than they already were._

"_Hiii!" the poor servant shrieked, deciding to throw the politeness to the airs as she attempted to do as Gozumaru had said, her cheeks growing hot. "Y-You're drunk, aren't you, Rikuo-sama?! There's no way I'd do anything like this!" she claimed, leaving the trays on the floor and taking her leave as fast as she could. That, however, seemed to have been interpreted only one way by Rikuo – if she wasn't willing to do as he said, he would force her to. And that was exactly what he did as he grabbed her scarf and brought her to his arms, treating her almost exactly like a caveman would._

"_W-Wait, Rikuo-kuuun~!" Kana, who was busy helping out an unconscious Gozumaru, as he seemed to have been hit in a very sensitive area of his head, could only shout at her flushing-red future husband, but was completely ignored._

"_Uooh, this is getting good! It's getting good!" from inside the room, Nattou-Kozou cheered._

"_Do it! Do it!" Ko-Oni imitated him._

"_Awah~~~!" trying to free herself, Tsurara cried as her master walked back into the room while holding her firmly. "So aggressive...!"_

"_This is bad! He's serious!" Kubinashi shouted as he opened the fusuma that led to the garden, "Hey, you lot! Ruuun!"_

"_Let's flee outsideee!" upon seeing the only way to escape being freed, someone yelled, and so most of the people in the room made their way out in panic, their steps on the tatami sounding like the ones of a herd of elephants. _

"_You okay with this, Rikuo?!" on his way to the exit, a drunken Zen asked loudly._

"_What about this mansion?!" Shouei asked, unable to use his own swordsman skills to stop his childhood friend, for he was also under the effect of alcohol._

"_To hell with all of it!" was the absurd reply he received from the Nura head._

"_Oooh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh?!" Awashima unsheathed her sword, and so did her brother. "You want to tear the house apart?! Over our dead bodies!"_

"_I don't wanna be blamed for this later, but if that's how you want it... come at us, Rikuo!" Itaku called, putting up his fighting stance._

"_Heh! I'll show ya what'cha wanna, then!" Rikuo said, his expression back to normal. Still, for some reason, his pacing had started slowing down halfway through the room. His grip on his aide also hinted to have weakened as she was almost able to break free. "An' don'cha even think of runnin'... away...!" he warned, his voice apparently faltering as he had to take a deep breath to continue speaking. "Let's... do this... n... o... w..." finally, his energies seemed to have been drained away as the influence of the Ayakashi-goroshi on him was most likely on its limit. Although it looked like the timing had all been too quick for a drink that had such a strong effect, it was just as understandable as it was relieving for everyone else, since the Wakagashira had drank nothing but a single cup._

"_Ri-Rikuo-sama?!" Tsurara panicked a little upon watching her master let go of her and slowly fall onto the tatami head-first._

"_Hey, Rikuo!" Yukari frowned down at him, her hands on her small hips. "Don't tell me you've made this entire ruckus for nothing?!"_

"_Damn, I was getting fired up..." Amanojyaku sighed, putting back his weapon._

"_Speak for yourself!" Amezou exasperatedly wacked him across his blond head._

"_Rikuo-sama!" cursing herself for being too late to catch him, Tsurara kneeled down next to the Nura head, shaking his back slightly. "Rikuo-samaaa!"_

"_Ugh..." he moaned, not bothering to move._

"_Ah, he's actually awake!" the raven-haired servant sighed in a short-lived sign of calm. "Rikuo-sama, can you hear me? How are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere?"_

"_I..." he slowly began, still not getting his face out of the hole he had dug into the floor as he fell. "I..."_

"_Yes?!" she urged, her hands forming fists against her chest._

"_...wanna throw up."_

Yura hadn't stayed to see how things would have turned out. Rather, she had been one of the first people to walk away at the Wakagashira's last statement, no longer caring about taking her fellow heiress with her – after all, her betrothed had most likely needed her help back then. Or, at least, that was what Yura had thought, before finding out the one who had stuck with him as every bit of the venomous Sake came out of his body and took him to his room had been his trustful aide. Successfully able to contain her laughter, the Keikain leader watched Tsurara support her superior as they slowly made their way. A small, lop-sided smile appeared on the archer's lips as she was able to forget about her grief towards Kana for a moment.

By the looks of it, that household would never change.

~o0o~

"We're here, Rikuo-sama!" Tsurara announced rather gleefully as she slid the shouji doors open. "Now, you just lie there and wait for me! I'll go fetch you some water and see if Zen-sama is sober enough to give you some medicine! Maybe I should call Wakana-san or Kana-sama as well!" she carefully led him to his futon and waited for him to seat to take her leave. But, with the little strength agility he still had, Rikuo was able to take her hand and pull her to him, forcing her to sit by his side.

"Hm-hm. I'm okay now." he said, almost like a whisper, as one of his muscular arms sneaked around her thin waist.

"Eh?" she blinked a few times at him, her cheeks heating up slightly. "You... don't feel sick anymore?"

"My head hurts, but it's fine. Just... stay here." he requested softly, while wrapping his other arm around her and forcing her to hold his shoulders as she tried to back him off without hurting him – yet it seemed that, even in such state, his physical strength could still surpass hers. "That alone should be enough." he added, bringing his face closer to hers, though having no intentions of stealing a kiss that time. Rather, he planned to do the same thing as the night of the Harumatsuri – since he didn't want to ruin her addicting taste, just holding her for some time would do, since her flowery scent and warmth were the best he medicine could have. Still, he knew that just asking for it wouldn't be enough to convince her.

That was why he was giving her **that** look again.

The hypnotizing scarlet-colored stare she couldn't differ between the one of a lonely puppy and a hungry wolf was back. And it was the same as always – bearing both longing and a hint of malicious selfishness, making it clear he was up to no good. Said look would usually be able to make her insides instantly melt, but she was able to resist it that time as she sighed, "Waka... still remembers what we talked about earlier, right?"

Already understanding where their conversation was going, he grimaced for a second, before looking away. It was not like he could forget any of the times she had turned him down. But the one she referred to had been particularly harsh, since she had told him face-to-face that she preferred to stay alone for the rest of her life than to be a burden to him as a response to the proposal he had made earlier. She had probably meant the whole issue with the Ienaga family would have only become more complicated if she had succumbed to his reckless decision of canceling his wedding, when it was already so close. He wasn't surprised with her straight-forward reply, though, for he knew very well there were no limits to what her loyalty towards him was capable of leading her to do.

After all, she had already even tried to commit suicide for the sake of not dragging him down.

It had happened two summers before – she had been captured by an extremely strong fiend after falling unconscious during a battle and used as a bait to attract her commander to the opposing Kumi's forces. The whole thing had been partly Rikuo's fault, as he hadn't been strong enough to defeat his enemy and ended up almost losing three of his comrades, his aide included. And, after waking up in unknown territory and finding out her master was coming for her, her decision had been to use her Naginata, which had also been taken with her, to cut her own throat. It was an understandable thinking, since she had no ways of defeating the foe all by herself and making her master go through the immense danger of trying to rescue her made her unworthy as his follower. Given her importance to him, there was also a good chance that her death could burst up his wrath and thirst for victory.

He had thankfully set his foot in before she could do so, but the experience had been rather traumatizing, as he had come just in time to see her pointing her blade to her neck. He was glad she had hesitated a little – or else, he would have arrived just in time to see her last moments. Nevertheless, the scene had stuck to his mind until the present time, and he could still picture it perfectly, as well as every negative feeling of back then. Still, he would sometimes laugh at the irony of the situation – he had gone there to save her from a powerful enemy, but had ended up having to save her from herself, too.

For someone like her, who would give up her own life for the sake of not becoming a burden to him, giving up her love for the same reason was probably nothing. But he simply couldn't follow the same dynamic, no matter how hard he tried. With that in mind, he directed his eyes at her again as he bluntly stated, "I do. And I don't care."

"Wha–?!"

"Wanting to have a future with me or not, as long as you still have feelings for me, I'm not gonna give up. Just you being willing to hand me over to someone else isn't enough for making me stop wanting you." In order to keep his cool pose despite his embarrassing honesty, he buried his face into her shoulder. "It only makes me want you more instead."

"H-How does that even make sense?!" she blushed madly as she tried to brush him off.

"You're making too much noise, you know? If this keeps up, someone will hear us." he warned, rather nonchalantly.

Although he did have a point, she wasn't pleased with how he had pretended not to hear her as she huffed. "R... Rikuo-sama... what did I tell you about being more caref–" she began, but was soon interrupted by a knock on the wooden part of the shouji doors.

"Ri... kuo-kun?" a familiar voice, which the other two recognized as Kana's, called from the outside. "Are you there?"

"He is!" Tsurara confirmed as she was able to free herself to open the doors. "Coming, Ojou!"

"Thank you, Oikawa-san." the chocolate-haired girl giggled slightly. "May I come in?"

"What are you saying? Of course you can!" before Rikuo could say anything, Tsurara made way for the heiress into the room she was supposed to move into in the not-so-far future.

"'Scuse me, then." Kana humbly said as she stepped inside. "Sorry for takin so long, Rikuo-kun. I had some things to take care of, but Wakana-san has already taken charge in my place." she bowed her head slightly in an apologetical gesture. And, although Rikuo thought she didn't really have to do it, since he wasn't really expecting her to come, – more like he had hoped she **wouldn't** have come – he was aware she was merely trying to do her best in her wife-to-be duties. "But she can't do it all by herself, so she wants Oikawa-san to assist her." she added, turning her head to the head aide.

"Ah, m-me?"

"Yes. She's waiting for you at the kitchen." The young noblewoman gave a reassuring smile, "I can take care of Rikuo-kun for now. Thank you very much for the help, Oikawa-san."

"I-It was nothing!" the raven-haired one laughed nervously, exiting the room and closing the shouji quickly. "I'll be leaving, then!"

"Oh, and, please call Zen-san on the way." Kana requested, before the servant could close them completely.

"Understood!" Tsurara nodded as she was able to return the smile.

After the underling walked away, a couple of seconds of silence followed, which was broken by the Ienaga daughter as she sat next to her future husband, "So, Rikuo-kun, how are you feeling?"

"More or less..." he answered, rather sheepishly, as he scratched the back of his head.

"Still with nausea?" she tilted her head a little, looking for signs of illness in his face. Deep down, she regretted not having been of assistance to him when he had needed, and was pretty ashamed of having to admit to herself that had been because she was quite a bit grossed out by the idea of having to watch him vomit, and her British culture only made her feel worse.

"In health and sickness", they say?

"Nope." he shook his head.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" adjusting her head to its previous position, she was relieved to see he seemed to be fine enough, the way his body always recovered so quickly never ceasing to amaze her.

"My head hurts a bit. But just a bit. Relax."

"I see..." she lowered her head, her smile slowly fading. "Hey, Rikuo-kun..."

"Yeah?"

"Can we... have a talk?" she asked shyly, refusing to look at him in the eyes as she blushed slightly. "But... not right now, since you're like that. We can do it tomorrow."

"Hm-hm. I'm totally alright. It was only one cup. And I've already put everything out, anyways..." he muttered the last part to himself as he dismissed her with a wave and his usual smile. "So... what's it you wanna talk about?"

Again, there was a moment of awkward silence between the two.

"Kana-chan...?" he asked lowly as he tried to meet her eyes, although it was useless, since they were hid in the shadows of her brown bangs.

"I..." she began lowly, but made a pause to take a deep breath.

Just from that, Rikuo could already tell she was pretty nervous, which meant whatever conversation she wanted to have would be a serious one. But he didn't have any idea of how serious it was, until she raised her head to look at him, her blush gone. With his burgundy eyes widening a little, Rikuo could almost see a completely different person before him in the skin of his childhood friend. The look she bore was a completely different one from what he had ever seen in her before – it was serious and stern, yet clearly full of emotion. That made many possibilities of what she could be about to say cross his mind, most of them having to do with her confessing her obvious feelings for him, which he had already been aware of for quite a while. Still, as numerous as those possibilities were, none of them matched the real thing.

"I saw you."

The moment the words reached his ears, his eyes widened even more as his heart nearly stopped. And, as it recovered from the shock, his body started to tremble slightly, until it was on par with the rhythm of his heartbeats again. As beads of sweat started forming around his face, he understood that what he was experiencing was something he hadn't for quite long.

Nervousness.

He was impressed that just three words could affect him so much, since what his old companion had said could be interpreted many ways. Still, that was also the heart of the problem – if his suspicious about the meaning of those words were correct, he was doomed. And, despite his anxiety and urge to run away from what could be coming in his direction, he was about to ask what she had meant with that simple phrase. But it seemed that, that time, it was his turn to be interrupted by a knock on the door as he was left with his mouth agape.

"Rikuo, you around?" a masculine laughing voice came from a tall shadow on the screen of the shouji doors. "It's Zen!"

"C... Come in." Rikuo answered as he was able to find his voice after a couple of seconds, still able to see Kana's still stare, despite having his eyes somewhere else.

"Yo, Rikuo. And... Ojou, too." upon sliding the shouji open, Zen grinned at the two, unable to sense the heavy atmosphere, thanks to his drunken state. "Here's the medicine you need. I was already bringing it when Yuki Onna came to me. Drink it all up and you'll feel better. And sorry for the wait! I'm a bit of a mess right now, you see..."

"That's no problem." Kana said dismissively, without directly looking at the Yakuzen healer. "Thank you."

"Well, then, call me again if ya need me~!" the purple-haired young man waved between hiccups, before closing the shouji and leaving as quickly as he had come.

"Well, Rikuo-kun?" once she was sure no one was nearby, the heiress pressed on slightly. "I'm waiting for your explanation."

"And I'm waiting for yours, Kana-chan." the Wakagashira retorted. "What did you mean by... that?"

With her hands clutching her kimono a little, the brunette sighed, "Today afternoon... I... I had been wanting to talk to you, Rikuo-kun. But it was a completely different conversation from this one of now. But I wanted it to be just as secret, so I came to your room when I thought you'd be all by yourself, and..." Her blush returning all at once, she could no longer afford to keep looking at her betrothed as she closed her eyes, "the door was a little bit open."

As Rikuo took less than a second to understand what she was trying to say, his eyes widened slightly again as he felt his cheeks heat up slightly, but couldn't care less about it. Kana, on the other hand, couldn't not notice it, as it was the first time she had ever seen him blush – rather, the first one she acknowledged, for she had always deemed such thing to be impossible to happen.

It just had to be because of something regarding that girl, she decided.

"Rikuo-kun and Oikawa-san have... a very deep relationship. I knew this from the start. I only didn't know **how** deep." She took another breath – that time, both to keep the memory of the scene she had saw the moment she was about to open the shouji doors and to help her continue her statement, "But, after that, I wanted to find it out. That's why I went to Oikawa-san today and asked her about it."

He blinked as his dilated eyes started to sting a little, "Huh? S-So she already... But why her before me?"

Surprised with the white-haired one's reaction, Kana had to struggle not to giggle for a second. "I think that's very obvious: we're both girls, so I knew she could open herself with me more easily. And she really did." she answered simply, her serious atmosphere back in a second as she recalled what had happened later that afternoon.

_It had taken her a long while, but she was finally able to recompose herself._

_It was at times like those that Kana would just wish to disappear from the world for some time and just stay somewhere no one would be able to find her. Thankfully, something similar had happened that day as she found refuge in the mansion's storage room, where she was both able to spend as much time as she wanted pouring out all of her sadness off her tightened chest and find something to dry her wet face afterwards. Still, oddly enough, she had been unable to cry. No matter how much sorrow and disappointment she felt and no matter how many things she needed to pour away from her heart, she did not feel any need to do so through shedding tears._

_She had indeed found it strange when Rikuo had come to her the day before in hopes she could do him a rather odd favor. Knowing she had some experience with dyeing, he had asked her to change the deep navy blue of his haori into an equally deep shade of brilliant red, adding that he wanted to keep a spot with the former color. But said spot had been meant to be very discrete, for it would look weird if it was exposed, as if it was a stain. From that, she had thought any spot of the inner part of the haori would have been just fine, but she soon found out it wouldn't, as he specifically asked her to make it the spot that was the closest to his heart. He hadn't explained to her the reason why he was making such unusual request, but she hadn't bothered to question him about it. She was just too happy that he was counting on her once in his life and asking her to do something wife-like to care._

_But now, she believed she had an idea of what that reason was, as she sat in front of her undeclared __**and**__ victorious love rival. As she hadn't wasted time to come to Tsurara's room to have a talk with her, the only thing that separated them was a small table, on which the aide had offered to serve anything, but had been brushed off as she had been merely requested to sit._

_Her cheerful face had changed quite quickly into the complete opposite as the Ienaga heiress had revealed the reason why she was there, but a small smile had soon approached it as she looked away. Whether it was a smile of embarrassment or wryness, Kana couldn't tell, but all she cared about at the moment was listening to her explanations. And, although she was asking for them pretty calmly, she was willing to demand them if she needed to. After all, her fiancé could perfectly have the liberty to hide everything from her, but the same did not apply to a servant – that is, if she hadn't yet received orders from her master not to tell anyone about anything._

_Much to Kana's luck, she hadn't._

"_So..." Tsurara hesitantly began, finally able to look at the bride in the eyes with a visible shade of pink on her cheeks, "where should I start from, I wonder?"_

"_From the start, of course." Kana stated the obvious, although Tsurara knew very well her words had a deeper meaning. "Also... I hope you don't mind it... in case I end up crying a little bit."_

That was what she had said back then. However, she had again been unable to let a single teardrop fall, for there were none, whatsoever. And she was certain it would be the same with her fiancé, which gave her courage to continue, "I already know everything. But only from Oikawa-san's side. Right now, I'm willing to hear it from Rikuo-kun's. I thought that, if I went to Oikawa-san first and learned everything from her, Rikuo-kun wouldn't have any reasons to hide anything. You have all the right do that if you want, though... but... if you could, it would lift a huge weight from my shoulders to hear the truth. So, please, Rikuo-kun..." She pleaded, her serious mask being replaced by her true self – a hopeful frown with her head lowered as her huge chocolate eyes stared up at him, "be honest with me."

As soon as her expression changed, Rikuo was able to realize something – there was no way he could refuse her request. Unlike what she had said, he actually thought she did have the right to know the truth. In truth, he had **always** thought she had that right, and every single time he did anything to his aide, something would bug him from the back of his mind.

The fact that, one day, he would have to tell her everything, whether she asked for it or not.

He hadn't expected said day to come so suddenly, and he really should have prepared himself better for it, but there was no more turning back now. He was also a little disappointed with himself for not being scrupulous enough to be the one to come to her and tell her about it all by his own initiative, instead of waiting for things to become like that. But he did have an idea of how to do things from then on, since he had spent quite a lot of time mentally rehearsing what he would tell her in this particular occasion.

As he had formerly decided, he would go from the simple to the complex parts. First things first, the most predicable – he and his aide had fallen in love with each other about two years before. And, about one year before, he had at last found the will and confessed to her. And that had been when the serious issues had **really** started. And while Rikuo talked about that fateful night, he tried his best to neglect his blush, and was thankfully successful at that as he watched Kana's reactions upon hearing the whole thing – of course, with the compromising details being omitted.

Then, he jumped from that event to his fourteenth birthday, with only a brief explanation of what had happened in the meantime between the two. Again, not giving details, he talked about how he had started advancing on his aide pretty seriously from back then on, but would most of the times be rejected by her, until the time being. That was one thing Kana was visibly stunned at, even though she had already heard the same thing from the aide, which had made him feel like leaving the room at once as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

By the end of the explanation, Kana had thought about asking why he didn't just break their engagement early, so that she wouldn't have had the trouble of wasting her time to come to Japan, but dismissed it as the answer was too evident. If he had done so, he would have had to face endless problems with the Ienaga family, as they would break their ties with the Nura-gumi. Besides, by the time he had started taking his relationship with his aide to a new level, she had already parted from Britain to come to him, so the best thing was to wait for her to arrive there first. But the thing was that he hadn't taken any measures to end their union until then.

And she wasn't letting him do it just yet.

"T-Thank you... Rikuo-kun." Kana finally said as her betrothed sighed deeply, after finishing the most embarrassing speech of his life. "But, I have... one more question."

"What is it?" Rikuo asked, in one of his rare moments of hesitation.

"Can you tell me what..." She shyly laced her own hands together as her eyes avoided his for a second, her cheeks still pink from everything she had heard, "was it that made you fall for Oikawa-san?"

"Geh?!" almost jumping off his futon, the Wakagashira backed up, accidentally letting a bit of red taint his face one more time.

"Y-Y-You don't have to answer!" Kana immediately added, her hands flailing and her voice faltering, "I-I just... really wanted to know."

That very question was the point in which her conversation with Tsurara had differed from the current one. She hadn't needed to ask Tsurara about it, since she knew the answer to it very well herself. After all, the only defect she could ever find in the young man standing before her was that he could be too arrogant and reckless at times. Other than that, all she could see were the good aspects about him. And maybe the best of those aspects, excluding his unique and striking handsomeness, was how his magnificent personality was made of extremes, as if his characteristics were all made to be complemented.

He was blunt, straight-forward, impatient, and short-tempered, but, at the same time, he was kind, caring and (as she could now see for herself) surprisingly shy. His confidence and charisma were inspirational, and would usually lead many to join him. His insistence and determination were unyielding, as he would always try his best to be able to outdo his limits. His broad mind and cleverness made it easy for him to manipulate others, guiding them into his beliefs and reasoning. While normally cool and controlled, he could perfectly exhibit zero mercy to those who would go against him. Although there was usually a huge gap between his physical strength and the hardships he had gone through in the past, thanks to his overwhelming talent for leadership and unbreakable will, he may have struggled over and over, but had been able to overcome his obstacles with the many allies, friends and underlings he had gathered. And, in the end, he, the pillar of their union, who shouldered the responsibility mantle of the weight of his hundred followers' lives, had been able to do the impossible – to cut through fate and achieve the glory he now held in his hands.

That was him, Nura Rikuo.

Just him being such a great person would already be enough reason for anyone to be curious about who in the world would have been able to capture his heart and how. After all, although his aide had many aspects that could have made him fall for her, Kana did not have any idea of what were the ones that had done so. And she felt a strange need to cease that doubt. Her suspicion was that the main reason behind her odd urge to find out about such thing was that, even though she had been trying her best to be a good enough future wife, what really seemed to be happening all that time was that she was trying to imitate the raven-haired maiden all along. She wanted to know where exactly she had failed at that no matter what – most likely due to frustration. And, even though she was almost sure she already knew the answer to her own question, she couldn't help but want to confirm it.

Sadly, that didn't depend on her alone.

Rikuo could only stare at his childhood friend for a while after she asked the second question. On the contrary of what she thought, he was not, in any moment, attempting to formulate an answer to it. Rather, he was pondering over the fact he didn't actually **have** the answer to it. While he did so, it was inevitable for him to wonder what was it in his most-trusted servant that had caught him first.

Maybe it had been her appearance. Until the present time, he would still sometimes ask himself how time could flow so quickly. She had grown up with him and they had spent almost every single day of their lives together, but even so, before he knew it, she had turned into a very beautiful young woman, like a caterpillar coming out of its cocoon.

Maybe it had been how having someone like her around wasn't very good for his ego. Although she was usually one of the first people to scold or lecture him whenever he did something wrong, she was also one of his best sources of motivation whenever she pointed out his qualities. That would almost always make him even cockier than he already was, but it would also make him feel like he was capable of doing anything, which had turned out to be true.

Maybe it had been her unwavering faith in him. Amongst every one of the Nura household, she was the one that believed in him the most, save his family. Such thing was clear as day and always proved in the battles they had fought, as well as her power of persuading people into believing in him as well, and it was quite a bit embarrassing for him to admit even to himself how happy that made him.

Maybe it had been her endearing loyalty and dedication. He had already lost count of how many times she had showed how big was her wish to be useful to him in anything, as she would never hesitate to be the first to support, avenge or save him. And most of those times would be note-worthy not only for the fact she would never give up, no matter how many serious injuries she earned, but the fact she would always do something remarkable in those situations. For example, being able to find improbable solutions to issues that seemed impossible to be solved or pretending to be at disadvantage and actually allowing herself to get beaten up by the enemy, so that she would be able to come with a surprise attack later on. That could also be the biggest reason why he would be on the verge of completely losing control every time something serious happened to her, since it would always involve protecting him.

Or maybe it had been the fact that, accompanied by all of those traits, **that** smile would always be by his side.

After a while of deep thinking, Rikuo was finally able to come up with a conclusion, which turned out to be another question – why would it have to be only one of her traits that had caught him first? After all, all of them be incorporated into one.

Her undying love.

Although he had always been a clueless guy, especially when it came to females and their feelings, he was quite sure she was the one who had fallen for him first. That was pretty much the main reason why she was who she was and had done what she had for his sake. Whenever he would stop to think about that mountain load of things, he would always feel there would be something missing, no matter how long the list was. And, normally, that would always lead him to think she had ended up doing too much.

So much that there was no way he couldn't have noticed, no matter how clueless he was.

"Sorry, Kana-chan..." now successfully able to prevent his blush from becoming visible, the Wakagashira finally gave his response. "I can't answer that one."

As if expecting the refusal, Kana could merely smile slightly as she sighed, "It's okay, Rikuo-kun. So... that's it."

"Y-Yeah... you know now."

"Indeed... and that feels much better than I had thought." at last, the heiress was able to give a full-fledged smile, which eased the white-haired one's nerves for a little. Still, the relief was short-lived as his eyes widened the slightest bits, a realization hitting him.

That was definitely **not** the reaction he was expecting from her.

At the same time that he had trained himself to reveal everything to her one day, he had also been trying his best to do anything in his power to comfort his friend when she broke down, which he had thought she most likely would have, sooner or later. After all, the whole purpose why she was there and her main goal in life had long been over, and finding that out certainly wouldn't be easy to anyone, especially to the sensitive and fragile girl he knew she was. But then, why was she so calm? How could she have any will to smile? Did it have to do with her earlier talk with Tsurara? Perhaps she had already vented everything she had wanted to with her? That could be it. Still, even if she had, she couldn't have recovered so quickly, which meant something was wrong – but what, exactly?

"Kana-chan...?" Rikuo called in a lowered voice, which the brunette had probably not heard as she continued to speak.

"I'm really glad you were able to open yourself with me, Rikuo-kun. It's almost as if you had complete trust in me. I appreciate that... very much." she slowly got on her feet, her smiling face staring down at his confused one. Due to how the room was so dimly lit, her usual cuteness had gained a rather gloomy aspect – courtesy of the shadows of her bangs.

After locking her eyes with his outstanding burgundy ones that seemed to shine in the darkness for another brief moment of silence, the heiress seemed to have felt the need to break the ice between them as she turned on her heels. "Well, then... I guess we no longer have anything to discuss. It's getting late, so..."

"H-Hold on, Kana-chan..." extending a hand, Rikuo, who couldn't move much due to the fact his body was still in its healing process, called out for his oldest friend, "that's all?"

"Eh? What do you mean?" as she turned back around, her questioning expression mirrored his.

"You'll be leaving just like that?" he shot her a skeptical gaze. "I just told you almost everything! Won't you even tell me what you and Tsurara talked about?"

"B... But... it was all pretty much the same as what we did, Rikuo-kun." she dismissively smiled with a drop of sweat breaking down her cheek. "The differences were minor."

"'Differences'? What differences?" he pressed on. "What did Tsurara say that I didn't?"

"H-Hum..." a little taken-aback by the Sandaime's insistence, Kana sputtered a little, "she said some things like... 'Please stay by Rikuo-sama's side'."

Upon hearing the answer, Rikuo couldn't help but blink a few times in silence, as if his brain refused to take in the information it had just received. As it did, he felt the need to seek for confirmation, inwardly praying it was all just a lie, "W... What...?"

"What do you mean by 'what', Rikuo-kun? It's all quite obvious, isn't it? Oikawa-san is willing to do her part in all of this." Kana stated firmly, her voice ringing into her arranged husband's ears. "And so am I."

"You..." still not able to take control over the situation, Rikuo swallowed dryly. "You mean..."

"Thank you very much for this talk, Rikuo-kun. I've now finally made up my mind." with the smile returning, Kana bowed slightly to her fiancé, as if her esteem and determination, which had been completely deteriorated earlier, had just been burst up. "I... will make this wedding work out without fail, no matter what."

"Wai...!" before Rikuo could even finish his sentence, the chocolate-haired young woman was gone as she slid the shouji doors open and closed swiftly, her shadow disappearing from the paper screen. He was left staring at the spot where she had previously been, only blinking again once her silhouette was no longer engraved in his retinas.

Realizing how much time he had wasted in that position, as if hoping for time to go back and for everything to go in a different way, he decided to just lie on his futon for good. Carefully, he nuzzled his right side on his comfortable sleeping place and pulled his thick blankets to cover his entire body. As soon as he was done isolating himself from any sort of outer noise, all he could hear were his own curses under his breath while squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

There were simply no words to describe in how many ways everything seemed to be suddenly going wrong in his life. As an image of an old memory started resurfacing in his mind, – the one of a young woman with raven hair, who had just come out of the same sort of place he was currently in, grabbing one of his arms with tears in her eyes and a look of determination – he smiled bitterly to himself.

_"If that's... if that's Waka's final decision, you'd better not count with my cooperation! I shall oppose myself to it! No matter what, I will accomplish my job as Waka's head aide and bodyguard and make sure Waka is married to Ienaga Kana-sama by the promised time!"_

"'Stay by Rikuo-sama's side', eh?" he repeated what his underling had supposedly told his arranged fiancée. "Sure sounds like something she'd say... that idiot." the last two words left his lips without his consent, and, as he heard them, he couldn't help but chuckle in self-pity.

After all, the only idiot was himself.

Now that their conversation was over, all he could do was to wonder what in the world had made him expect its results to be the exact opposite of what they had actually been. While training himself to be able to reveal everything to his oldest childhood friend one day, the image he had pictured in his head about what would have happened was completely different. Then again, he had been looking forward to being the one to come to Kana, not for her to be smart enough to go to Tsurara first and earn her support, so that she wouldn't have to give up on her betrothal.

Everything had just become even more difficult to him.

Tsurara had already been on her rival's side from the beginning, according to herself, and she knew that now. Of course that would only motivate her to keep going with her marriage plans and make her and her family's dream come true. And, as much as he was disappointed with how she had disregarded him in said plans, no one couldn't blame her for anything. It wasn't her who had started that mess – she was merely attempting to end it on her own way, which was probably the only one she deemed to be safe and correct. That was because she didn't yet know what Rikuo's solutions for their family issues would be, but the fact she hadn't given him any chance to show them to her proved that she didn't even **want** to let him do it. However, whether it was his or her way, there was no real right or wrong – they were both merely fighting with all their hearts for their happiness. He understood her, and, after the revealing long talk, he was pretty sure she also understood him. And, soon, their silent battle against each other would come to an end, for the day everything would be settled was very close by.

Their wedding day was right around the corner.

~o0o~

Keikain Yura was not a very lucky person – or, at least, that was what she herself had decided after she had finished having her breakfast with her noble friends.

That morning, the only traces of the storm of the day before were the huge amount of water accumulated from it and the grayish, cloudy skies. Since the streets were still pretty hard to pass through because of that, the young guests had been invited to stay over one more night. But it seemed only two of them would be staying as a young man arrived at the Nura residence on a horse, claiming he was there to pick one of them up.

As soon as the Sandaime and his fiancée had finished their meal with their dear friends, Natsumi had come to announce the arrival of "Yurai-chan" – that is, her own way of referring to Yura's "onii-chan". Upon hearing that, Yura hadn't wasted time to take her belongings and make her way to the entrance, where she had thought her huge liar of a brother was waiting for her. But the one in his stead was actually...

"M-Ma... Mami... ru-kun...?!" all the Keikain leader could do was to stammer at the sight of her orange-haired indirect kin standing by the main doors, his horse obediently waiting as it was tied to a nearby tree.

"Yura." he greeted her with his signature blank expression, adjusting his black cloak. "Ryuuji and Akifusa were worried that you couldn't come home yesterday. They told me to fetch you up."

"Ara, you're already leaving?" Kana's voice was heard from behind as she made her way to the entrance, bowing her head a little to the orange-eyed tall man and receiving a quick response from him. Turning to her blushing friend, she couldn't help but smile at how convenient the situation was. Following her, the rest of the nobles came to bid her goodbyes as well, including the current Nura head and his mother.

"Thank you for having come, Yura-chan!" Wakana said with her usual motherly smile, giving the girl a small sack of homemade treats, "Have a save trip!"

"T-Thank you very much, Nura-kun's Okaa-san!" not taking her shining eyes off the warm fresh sweets she had just received, Yura bowed rather deeply.

"Ah, hum... erm..." Behind everybody, Jirou shyly rubbed the back of his neck as he forced a smile, "U-Until next time, Keikain-san!"

"It was good while it lasted, Keikain-kun!" Kiyotsugu patted the girl's head continuously, unintentionally forcing her down a little, "But sadden not! We shall meet again at Ienaga-kun and Nura-kun's wedding!"

"Y-Ye-a-ah..." she attempted to speak, but the sound ended up coming out broken, due to Kiyotsugu rapidly moving her head up and down with his heavy hand.

"Oi, oi, Kiyotsugu... quit doing that." with lowered eyelids, Rikuo moved poor Yura away from the long-haired man and started patting her himself in a much lighter way. "What're you gonna do if you make her even smaller than she is now? Huh?"

"Yes, that's righ..." Nodding, Yura was about to agree with him until she processed his other statement, immediately pushing him away with her head, "Uwaah! You're horrible! Stop touching me already!"

"By the way, you'll be coming after all?" he asked, his expression showing he could have laughed if he had enough will.

"W-What's with that reaction?" her blush coming back, she frowned at him as she remembered what she had told Tsurara before. "Ienaga-san invited me, s-so..."

"That's wonderful, Yura-chan!" Wakana beamed, "You know, you're free to bring your family, too, if you want!"

"O-Okay..."

"You can also keep my things and bring them back on the wedding day. It'll save you trouble." Kana pointed at the kimono and tabi her friend had borrowed from her during her stay, since her belongings had become sweaty after her training, not taking notice of the Wakagashira grimacing for a second at the word "wedding".

"Thank you." the Keikain heiress smiled slightly. "Well, then... I'll be leaving now."

"See ya soon, Yura." Rikuo crossed his muscular arms, a little annoyed that he couldn't bring himself to make a less serious face.

"We'll be waiting for you!" Kana giggled, before holding her friend's hands in hers and whispering with a slight blush and a look of encouragement, "And good luck! This will most certainly be a hard path to walk! You'll have many difficulties, but do your best! Yeah!"

"Eh...?! Y-Yes... thank you..." Yura whispered back, stammering a little. "By the way, Ienaga-san... I think you should look after Shima-kun and Nura-kun. They're a little bit... **odd** today."

"Oh? You think so?" the hazel-eyed put up an innocent act before giving off a reassuring look, "Alright. Leave it to me."

The dark brown-haired young woman ended the goodbyes right then and there as she got up on the horse that was supposed to take her back home, which Mamiru had done the favor of bringing to the end of the small staircase by the mansion's doors. As he sat behind her and nearly enveloped her with his arms to be able to hold onto the reins, her blush only deepened. That made it impossible for her to bring herself to look at her friends and the adult accompanying them as they waved and at her, while all she could do was to wave back with her eyes facing forward. And, as she heard the sound of the huge wooden gates of the Nura household being loudly closed, her heart skipped a beat. Upon seeing the deserted streets, she gulped as her hands started to sweat a little bit.

It was just the two of them for now.

~o0o~

"Yura... are you angry at me?"

"E-Excuse me...?!" at the sudden, stern question from the wavy-haired tall man behind her, the Keikain heiress's voice ended up coming out a little more high-pitched than usual.

As they were already half-way home and everything had been going fairly well, with no exchanged words or looks whatsoever, she had thought she would be able to get there without problems, despite how nervous she was in the presence of the handsome older one. However, the way he had broken the heavy silence between them begged to differ.

"You've been acting... weird lately." Mamiru explained, which made her want to return the statement at him, but dismissed it as it was actually usual for him to do weird things – kissing her without permission was the best example. That was also the biggest reason why she had spent quite a bit of time wondering if she had been the only one he had done such thing with.

"H-How so?"

"You're stuttering." he stated the obvious, earning a mental face-palm from the girl. "And you've been... avoiding me."

"T-That's..." she began, but made it clear she didn't know whatever to say next as she trailed off.

"Say..." slowly stopping the horse, Mamiru leaned a little bit closer to her, "is it because of that?"

"'That'...?" she absent-mindedly turned around as she forgot her nervousness for a second, her questioning look being replaced by one of utter surprise as some strands of fiery hair covered her vision. Something soft was touching her lips all too gently, and she had only taken a few seconds to be able to recognize it, despite not being able to see what it was.

Yet again, he was stealing a kiss from her.

It had also only taken a matter of seconds for her entire face and neck to become bright red. But, thankfully enough, the contact was quick that time as well. And, as it was broken by the older male, all Yura could do was to stare motionlessly up at him as he clarified, "**That**."

Unable to form a proper sentence, all Yura could do was to babble incoherently, "W-Wah... wah... wah...?!"

Automatically, in the midst of embarrassing herself, her mind had gone back to the conversation she had had with Kana the afternoon before and the advice she had given her – to be honest with her feelings. And, as suggested, she had spent quite a lot of time thinking about them that day, able to take a few conclusions – one of them coincidentally being the answer to Mamiru's question. Although what he had done to her gave her all the possible rights to be angry, the truth was that she simply couldn't be, no matter how much she tried. Rather, every time she would remember what had happened, she would only become happy and eager instead as her heart would race just as quickly as it currently was.

The problem was – how was she supposed to tell him that?

Knowing that staring any longer at the young ikemen's handsome face would only make her go redder and discourage her words to come out, Yura immediately turned away from him, her eyes facing forward again. Taking a deep breath, she went almost completely stiff as she mustered, "N... No... I'm not."

"You're not... angry?" he asked for confirmation, coming even closer.

All she could do in response was to shake her head. Upon realizing she had managed to answer him without making the situation any more awkward or giving him more information than she should, she was able to relax a little as she released a sigh. But, unconsciously, she found herself holding her breath again as a pair of muscular arms were wrapped around her slim, soon-to-be fifteen-year-old body.

"That's... relieving." before she could say anything, Mamiru whispered under his breath, tickling the girl's neck as he nuzzled his head on hers. "I thought you were avoiding me... because you hated me. I didn't... know what to do. I just... wanted to be able to see you again... as quick as possible."

"Huh...?" blinking a few times, the younger one instinctively placed her hands over his arms, but never thought about escaping from his embrace. Her heart racing quicker, she could only become more eager with a mixture of joy and curiosity, as if she was literally dying to know what he would say next.

"I lied... Yura. It's true everyone in the... household is worried about you, but... no one told me... to come here. I came... by myself." at the confession, Yura could only stay put as her eyes dilated slightly.

There was a reason why her inhuman brother, Ryuuji, had long nicknamed the young man behind her a "helpless baby" – ever since **that** day, Mamiru would never do anything that he had not been told to. In the last seven years, there had never been any exceptions of that; but now he was simply telling her he had not only deceived her, but everyone in the Keikain main house, in order to fulfill his own wish. And now that she could think better about it, that wasn't the first time he did something on his own – hugging her, returning her embrace and kissing her twice were also things he did without being told.

Could that mean... he was recovering?

Yura's chocolate eyes only widened more at her own mental question. And with it, another one surfaced in her mind – since she had never seen or been notified of any other situation in which he had displayed such odd behavior, could it be she was really the only one whom he acted like that around?

"Yura... you didn't give me... any chance to explain myself... before. Do you want to... know why I kissed you... that night?"

While she had been lost in assumptions, the brunette had only been brought back by the word "kissed". Jumping slightly, she could feel heat surrounding her face again as she started stammering, "Y-Yes..."

"It was a... spur of the moment." with the unexpectedly plain answer, Yura had almost turned around to give the one of her affections a confused look, but restrained herself as she was still unable to do so. Before she could say anything, he continued, as if already knowing what she would ask, "I wasn't able to control... myself once we were... alone together. I had wanted... to do that for some... time now."

As if her voice had been taken away from her again, she grabbed onto the young man's black cloak for dear life without even noticing, and couldn't help but ask herself when she had been that nervous before. The fact she couldn't answer it only made her more anxious, but all of the feelings that had built up inside her seemed to have been swept away for a second at the next sentence that reached her ears.

"I... love Yura."

And that was it – with that simple, broken three-worded phrase, Yura's heart was at a sudden state of ease for a brief moment, her swaying feelings seeming to have been tranquilized. It didn't take her much to understand what she was going through was a sense of realization as her body seemed lighter. However, it had taken her even less to feel the weight of her own unsaid reply pushing her down all over again. And, with that, she knew exactly what she had to do in response to the redhead's kindness.

It was now or never.

"I... I-I-I..." she mustered out, taking another deep breath as she held onto his cloak's sleeve even harder and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, "I... love you, too... M-Mamiru-kun."

As soon as she was able to complete her sentence, she could perfectly sense Mamiru's surprise due to their closure – which, given the events of the past few days, was at a pretty dangerous level. And as the only thing that could be heard was the wind that had been blowing the insistent clouds away ever since morning, the two of them stayed like that for a rather long while.

"W... what...?" Yura slowly asked herself, her inner world breaking down into a lightning tempest once she had registered the sentence that had escaped her lips. It was at that time that she completely lost it as she screamed as loud as never before within her mind, "WHAT DID I JUST SAAAAY~?!"

Suddenly being washed from head to toes with overwhelming regret, she found herself yet again blushing madly while stuttering some excuse to run away from what could be coming in her direction, as she had at last managed to break free from the embrace so that she could try facing Mamiru's shiny orange eyes, "Hu-Hum... l-listen, I–"

The moment they locked stares, the Keikain heiress could swear her heart had stopped. While the gentle breeze caressed her cheeks slightly, the first sunrays started breaking through the thick gray clouds covering the sky, forming a long shadow on the redhead's front as they could only reach his back. Such shadow made it quite a bit hard for her to see his expression, since he had his cloak's hood on, but she was still able to get a glimpse of the unusually soft look in his eyes.

And, together with it, the long-lost warmth of his curling lips.

By then, an image flashed before her eyes – the one of a certain orange-haired boy that had the most charming smile she had ever seen. A boy that she had known and been very close to for a long time. A boy that had suffered from a serious brain disease from injuries he had gotten in his head while protecting her. A boy that had been able to survive at the price of losing his memories and literally becoming a living machine. A boy that she owed so much to she wondered every day if she would ever be able to pay him back for exchanging his life for hers. A boy that she had never thought she would be able to meet ever again. A boy that had become a man.

A man whose charming smile was back.

With tears forming in the corners of her eyes, the dark brown-haired young woman could no longer tell apart her most distant dreams from the reality she was living, until that smile reached her forehead gently and reassuringly, "Shall we... go home, Yura?"

After staring at him in contemplation for a little more, Yura blinked her tears away with a smile, her Kyouto accent failing as she fought a few sobs from the knot that had formed in her throat, "Y... Yeah..."

Turning back forward as the horse began moving again, she was more than surprised to see the after-storm sky becoming clear, its beautiful blue reflected on the surface of the water that had washed the land the day before. In the midst of the peace she was experiencing, the calm and quiet of their illuminated path seemed to be a very good omen for their future. Now that everything was settled between the two of them, they would only have one obstacle to overcome.

How to explain things to her sadistic older brother.

"By the way, Mamiru-kun..." Yura requested rather awkwardly, her brother's frowning face popping into her head, "what happened here today... and what happened the other day at the Jinja... we'd better keep as a secret for now."

"Okay." he gave his same old reply. But, instead of having its usual frustrating effect on her, it had only made her smile grow wider.

After all, this time, she was sure he had understood the message.

~o0o~

TCHAN, TCHAN, TCHAN, TCHAAAAAN! Cliffy! And I bet you guys are back to hating Kana now. DX

Man, school sucks. I'm glad I've been able to update more quickly this time, though! But still not as quickly as I had planned! I'm gonna try to speed up even more to finish this story! By the way, guys... we're almost reaching the end! If everything goes as I planned, there's only one chapter left! Expect the unexpected! :D

Now, remarks!

1) More characters and backstories being added! Yay, I was able to use someone from the pilots yet again! Cookies for you, Kanako~! XD

2) FINALLY, I'VE BEEN ABLE TO ADD A PROPER ITAREI MOMENT! From the Hair Omake, no less! It was then that I started shipping ItaRei, after all! And also the only way I could use such cute Omake for this story... damn, I wish I could have used it with the RikuTsura part as well, but it wouldn't have worked! DX

3) Ufufufufu... I wonder what Maki is hiding~! You're free to guess, everyone! ;3

4) The RikuTsura moment and Rikuo and Kana's talk feel very OOC to me and were very hard to write... I hope they have been good enough, though. Please comment about them, guys!

5) WHOO, NIGHT RIKUO SEDUCING THE LADIES AT THE PARTY! I've been wanting to write about that omake for very long, and I'm glad I've been able to add it to this story, although I had to make some adaptations!

6) Ya know what, guys?! Screw Edo and Toukyou! This is gonna be Ukiyoe, alright! Thank goodness I haven't yet made the changes in the whole story, 'cause I recently noticed something – the whole point of the story being in Edo was to emphasize that it was happening during Edo period. But since I'll be using Meiji, the first thing that had come to me was to transform Edo in Toukyou. Still, I could have perfectly made Edo Ukiyoe and just say it was going to change into Meiji in the author notes, so, sorry for the confusion, but forget about them. Ukiyoe is here to stay. And I'm still throwing the responsibility onto Citsimsan because... just because. :P

7) So~! Mamiru and Yura's love resolution was, much like everyone else's, pretty damn hard to write. It seems very OOC as well. But I'm glad I've managed to write about Mamiru returning to his normal self – he had never blended with a Shikigami in this story, so it's not a far-fetched idea here. But I wish that had happened in the manga too. DX

8) I myself loled at Kiyotsugu doing Dassai's role and Yura doing day Rikuo's.

9) Writing about angsty Rikuo really sucks sometimes. Just saying.

10) This was the longest chapter so far. Expect an even bigger one next!

Now... replies for the anons:

**Psy:** ohohoho, yes! I surprisingly sleep better now! XD

Thank you very much!

I hope they have been good!

You're welcome!

**kuro:** heeeeeey, Kuro-san! XDDD

YEAH, I KNOW, RIGHT?! WHOOO! CANON! WE WIN, BITCHES! IT'S RIKUTSURA FOREVER! 8D

It wasn't really a day after I had posted, just half of it. But even if it had been a day, why are you apologizing? You reviewed, so that's enough! :D

Ugh, mine also wasn't very good... DX

Thank you very much! I'm so glad it was good enough! ;A; *hugs*

Yes and yes! But wait, it's not "family with different religions". We have and don't have religion. Wait, what? XD

Hahaha, I've seen quite a few GozuMezu shippers out there, but I can't bring myself to like it. It's not even because I'm not fujoshi, because I do have a few yaoi pairings, but to me, they look and act like brothers. Besides, with Mezu's lack of feelings and Gozu's feelings for Tsurara, I see pretty much no appeal. Between GozuMezu and GozuYuki, I'd prefer GozuYuki, even though I don't like either. Sorry! DX

I had known too! Well, I suspected! XD And I kinda like and don't like. I like the cuteness and all, the tough guy being melted from the inside out by a girl and everything. Nyaw~! ^_^ But I don't like the unrequited thing... DX

Maa, I don't think it's all like that. Because, like I said, he doesn't really see her as a sister nor she seems to see him as her brother. And I think everyone knows about Tsu's feelings, him included. But I don't think that's enough to make him stop liking her – rather, it's reason to like her more, since her character developments resolve around her love. So, yeah. X3

By the way, his name is "Shouei", hon. Have you been watching too much K? XD

Yup! And I'm glad I've been able to pass the message! ^_^

I hope it has been as beautiful as you had imagined it! ;A;

Why does it bother you? DX And yeah, ShimaKana is still a pupa, whatever that is. XD

The butterfly shall open its wings soon! 8D

Yeah, and it's all true – he admitted in in an interview. I'm thinking about making a tumblr post ranting about how it's his fault we'll never be getting a third season. The bastard. )X

Haha, I also prefer my Kana much more! And you'll still like her better in the next chapters! ^3^

Wow, I'm so glad her character has affected you to that point! And they're not actresses, so let's call them "female leads", ne? ^_^

Tsurara isn't really changing... o_o'

Ah, I see! But what's "wkwkwkwk"? ^_^'

So you **did** watch a lot of K Project! XDDD And yes, I feel the same, of course! *A*

Ahahaha, me too! And I agree, ohohoho! :D

Yup! *_*

Hahaha, calm down! XD

Did you know that e-mails received from non-contacts are usually sent to the recycle bin? It's like a garbage folder that takes care of material you receive that seems suspicious. When I got my e-mail from them, it was there. If it's not there, you could have typed your e-mail wrong, so maybe you could try again! :)

Oh, but it's okay! I may write stories for Shiibashi-sensei's new one-shot if it becomes a series and if I like it! :D

And keep writing I shall! B-(

Yes! It's all totally the same! Do you feel the connection, kuro-saaan?! DX

I understand. I'm sooo like you! 0_0

Awww, we really are very alike! X3

Thanks! But... "fighting"? XD

Yeeeah! The most developed countries don't have that many subjects for everyone! Why~~~? DX

Kyaaaah, thank you soooo much! *_*

Lol. Okay, then. ^_^

*hugs* Me too! And thank **you**! :D

Two-page response again! I view that as good, 'kay? And, wow, what just happened to your writing? Your English suddenly seems a lot better! *o*

**Anon-Person:** sorry to disappoint ya, but it was really her! And she suffered even more. BUT, that suffering is necessary! Fight, Kana-chan! (;A;)9

Lol, they're not exactly "non-existent". You'll see, you'll see. XD

I agree. But then again, he didn't get a chance to interact with Gozu and Shouei when they were openly crushing on Tsurara, so we didn't get a chance to see it. I can only imagine how it would be. DX

It is, isn't it? And we got to see that **a lot** in the first chapters of the manga. Too bad it stopped after Kana's screen time diminished. We didn't even see her going through her character development. It was small, but she had it! D:

And they will! Again, you shall see it soon... 8D

Nah, that's totally okay! I love to interact with the readers, especially when they have ideas or questions to share, so they're always welcome! But I'm afraid I'm going to ask a few questions back as well... so, sorry too. -_-

Yeah, a little bit. Why? ^_^

Like I wrote on the past and some other chapters, Nura-gumi has already reached its glory. That implies the fight against Seimei has already passed, so it shall be limited to flashbacks only. ;3

Well, Tsurara accepted her completely, yet I don't think it was because she could heal Rikuo, but because she had become one of them. After all, those were Tsurara's words to Zen. And, if Rikuo had done Matoi with the Kitsune, that means he trusted her fully. She had also helped them defeat their greatest enemy, who was her son, and Tsurara was there when she stated the one she considered her child now was Rikuo, so Tsurara had no reason not to trust her. But what does that have to do with anything again? X3

Nope, it seems we never got a chance to see them interact other than that one. Pity. But it was a really good scene. I liked how Tsurara was the only person that defended her. And the Kitsune's surprised face is something really rare, so it was rather refreshing. I swear I could see the vibes of her starting to ship RikuTsura right then and there! /is shot

She did remove it. Why? '-'

**Guest:** Wow, thank you very much! And your English is not that bad! ;3

**Guest (the one with the hate comments about Tsurara):** Oh. My. Gosh. You are the anonymous reviewer that had been hating on Tsurara on this site lately, aren't you? Lol. XD

I had thought you were only reviewing to GozuYuki stories, since you seemed to hate the fact Gozumaru is in love with Tsurara – which totally ruined your GozuMezu mood – and was blaming it on her. But it looks like I was wrong. You're hating on all of the stories in this site that have Tsurara on focus, aren't you? Well, about time you found me!

Do you remember FlamesofDeath07? I was the one who wrote the response to your first review to her, since she asked my help with it. When I read that review of yours, I had wanted to give my own response to you as well, and I had imagined how it would be if you reviewed to me. To my surprise, this day has come. But, before you start reading the rest of this, I must warn you that, definitely, out of all the people you sent anon hate to about Tsurara, I am the worst of them. Don't blame it on me if there are any damages to your self-esteem or dignity in this response. I just can't ignore it when people mess around with my favorite girl. That is to say – you asked for it.

You got it right, genius. I am a Tsurara fan. And, no, I don't **think** she's important. Since she's the main female lead of NuraMago, I **know** she is, and so do you. Or, at least, I believe you have enough capability of being able to tell something this obvious, even though you are in denial about it. You can stop making a fool of yourself now.

As humans, we all have different views, opinions and tastes. So, no, I don't think everyone has to like Tsurara. You, on the other hand, seem to think everyone has to hate her. Sorry, my dear, but nearly the entire fandom loves her. Because, well, she's just that awesome.

Sure, she's a bird-brained useless bitch. She is the second most popular character of NuraMago because everyone that reads it must love bird-brained useless bitches. Gozumaru, too, must have fallen for her because his type is the bird-brained useless bitch one. Do you realize now that you're bashing a character that you love and a fandom you are involved with by bashing her? I guess you just burnt yourself. Take all the time you want applying cold water to your sore spots.

Sorry, but you either didn't read the latest chapters or are pretending to have forgotten a little detail – Tsurara and Kana are friends now. And, in the times that Tsurara didn't like Kana, Kana didn't like her either. Same goes for Yura – Tsurara may not like her much, but Yura doesn't like her much either. It's something mutual, not from Tsurara alone.

"Fictitious bitch who really worth for the love of other"? Since that sentence is grammatically wrong and utterly confusing, I don't even have to reply to it. You lose your point by default.

Yeah, of course. Everyone would be happy if she just got away, especially Gozumaru. I bet he would never miss following her around just to tease her and invade her personal space like he usually does.

Now that I've replied to your nonsense, here goes what I've really been wanting to tell you: I've already read one of your reviews saying exactly why you like to hate on Tsurara and her fans, and the only thing I can say is that I'm really sorry you're wasting your precious lifetime with this. Doing that may be pleasant to you, but I guess receiving responses like these and getting butt-hurt afterwards is not really what you want. So, instead of obsessing over things you dislike (yeah, you're pretty obsessed with our favorite Yuki Onna here), why don't you dedicate yourself to the ones you like? Go write a GozuMezu story or whatever other pairing you may like.

Then again, this is just an advice. If you want to follow it, good. If you don't, I wouldn't mind having to reply to you again. On the contrary of most fans, I never get annoyed at all when a character I love is attacked by others, since I always choose my favorites well, and, therefore, I'm always full of arguments in their defense. That's why I usually enjoy discussions about them, especially when the haters are like you – illogical and with baseless bias as the only thing they can possibly use, which I find simply pathetic. So, you may continue to amuse me further if you want. I won't be waiting for you, though. :P

**Guest (the one with hate comments towards the anon with the hate comments):** it's okay, bud. No need to waste your time with someone like that. They just don't have anything better to do than mock people for liking what they like. All we can do is to pity them. ;D

Okay, another long chapter ends here, guys! I hope it has been worth the wait! Please leave reviews~!


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